RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., March 24, 2020 —
The current global pandemic of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has now affected more than 180 countries and regions, including over 40,000 cases in the United States alone. The disease has spread rapidly, leading to a tremendous impact on the U.S. healthcare system and causing societal disruption. The public health threat posed by COVID-19 is extremely high, both globally and in the U.S.
To effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, ThermoGenesis and ImmuneCyte are working together mobilizing their expertise, global resources and relationships in the medical technology field to develop, register, import and seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for advanced point-of-care tests that will allow rapid diagnosis of the COVID-19 virus, including asymptomatic cases. The tests would be able to be done both at point-of-care settings, or potentially at home, without further burdening the already stressed healthcare system. A quick do-it-yourself (DIY) testing kit, as simple as a routine pregnancy test or diabetic glucose test, if approved, would allow millions of people currently quarantined at home to conduct a self-test.
Management noted that the first of such a rapid point-of-care test could be available as early as April through ThermoGenesis and ImmuneCyte. “We expect to file for an expedited review process with the FDA for the assay,” noted Dr. Xu.
About ImmuneCyte Life Sciences, Inc.
ImmuneCyte will provide clients with the opportunity to bank their own immune cells when the cells are “healthy and unaffected,” as a future resource for cellular immunotherapies, such as CAR-T. ImmuneCyte utilizes ThermoGenesis’ proprietary CAR-TXpress™ platform, a GMP compliant closed-system capable of automated separation and cryopreservation of different components from blood. For more information about ImmuneCyte Life Sciences Inc., please visit: www.immunecyte.com.
About ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc.
ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc., formerly known as Cesca Therapeutics Inc., develops, commercializes and markets a range of automated technologies for CAR-T and other cell-based therapies. The Company currently markets a full suite of solutions for automated clinical biobanking, point-of-care applications, and automation for immuno-oncology, including its semi-automated, functionally-closed CAR-TXpress™ platform, which streamlines the manufacturing process for the emerging CAR-T immunotherapy market. For more information about ThermoGenesis, please visit: www.ThermoGenesis.com.
