NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Sequenom today said that it has opened a new CLIA lab in Raleigh-Durham, NC, and has begun processing patient samples at the facility.
The San Diego-based molecular diagnostics and genetic analysis tools firm said that the new lab will have an initial capacity of 100,000 tests per year and will primarily support processing of its MaterniT21 Plus lab-developed test. It added that the expansion will enable its wholly owned subsidiary, the Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine, to immediately increase its MaterniT21 Plust testing capacity to more than 300,000 samples per year.
Last week at the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference in New York, Sequenom CEO Harry Hixson said that the North Carolina lab had recently underwent CAP inspection and was expected to be operational in 30 to 45 days.
The company has set an internal run rate of 150,000 tests for 2013, and by the end of the first quarter it had already reached an annualized run rate of 140,000 tests.
"Our investment in establishing this new presence on the East Coast will allow us to better meet the needs of healthcare providers by providing critical additional capacity and geographic back-up needed to address the rapidly growing adoption of our testing services," Sequenom President and COO William Welch said in a statement.
Sequenom noted that the new lab received its CLIA registration for operation last month.