17 February 2021 - - US-based population health engagement and testing platform company BioIQ has forged a partnership with Fulgent Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLGT), a technology company providing testing solutions, to offer viral genome sequencing capable of identifying various variants of the COVID-19 virus, the company said.

Fulgent Genetics' full viral genome sequencing is a new and rapidly evolving tool that better characterizes COVID-19 infections and the consequences of new variants in the population.

The partnership makes it possible for BioIQ employer, government, and health plan customers to leverage Fulgent Genetics' testing solution to inform testing regimens, clinical treatment protocols and vaccination strategies pursuant to the identified COVID-19 variant.

Local public health agencies can similarly leverage the testing solution in ongoing population infection surveillance programs with BioIQ.

Addition of the Fulgent variant test to the BioIQ digital diagnostic testing ecosystem is the latest announcement in an ever-growing lineup of resources designed to help employers, health plans, and public health agencies respond to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Since the onset of the pandemic, BioIQ has continuously brought COVID-19 testing solutions to market.

From saliva-based tests; to combined COVID-19 and flu panel tests; to mobile, on-site testing; and now variant detection; the company continues to lead the market in COVID-19 diagnostics and program management solutions.

BioIQ's COVID-19 and infectious disease platform encompasses on-site, retail, and home self-collection workflows across a variety of test types within a consumer friendly, digital experience.

The BioIQ framework helps employers, health plans, and local public health agencies gain access to a national network of testing options; implement convenient, analytics-driven programs to efficiently facilitate testing; and monitor and manage the patient testing journey from end-to-end.

BioIQ is modernizing the diagnostic testing industry through a national network of labs and customized solutions that support payors, employers, and consumers, the companies said.

By aggregating testing solutions, optimizing lab capacity, and integrating testing with customers' needs and strategies, BioIQ ensures resilience and reliability so that employers and payors can protect workforces and members.

With its health connectivity platform, BioIQ said it is uniquely positioned at the convergence of population health and the consumerization and retailization of healthcare to drive the shift to value-based care for payers and employers. Since 2005, BioIQ has launched thousands of successful health testing programs serving millions of participants.

Fulgent Genetics' proprietary technology platform has created a broad, flexible test menu and the ability to continually expand and improve its proprietary genetic reference library while maintaining accessible pricing, high accuracy and competitive turnaround times.

Combining next generation sequencing with its technology platform, the company performs full-gene sequencing with deletion/duplication analysis in an array of panels that can be tailored to meet specific customer needs.

Since March 2020, the company has commercially launched several tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus, including NGS and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction based tests.