On Mar. 13, 2020, BioReference Laboratories, an OPKO company, announced it had begun accepting specimens for testing of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from healthcare providers, clinics and health systems throughout the U.S.

In addition, BioReference announced a partnership with the New York State Dept. of Health to provide testing for the first public drive-through testing facility on the East Coast.

The facility was located in New Rochelle, NY, the epicenter for the New York State outbreak. BioReference, in partnership with the state of New York, also expected to begin offering up to 5,000 tests a day at additional satellite testing sites to be set up the next week.

BioReference provides comprehensive testing to physicians, clinics, hospitals, employers, government units, correctional institutions and medical groups. The company is in network with the five largest health plans in the United States, operates a network of 10 laboratory locations, and is backed by a medical staff of more than 160 MD, PhD and other professional level clinicians and scientists.

OPKO Health is a diversified healthcare company. In diagnostics, its BioReference Laboratories is one of the nation’s largest full-service clinical laboratories; and GeneDx is their rapidly growing genetic testing business.