NEW YORK — Australian diagnostics firm Genetic Technologies said on Thursday that it has signed an agreement to commercialize its COVID-19 risk test in the US with Infinity Biologix.
Genetic Technologies' test is designed to assess the risk of an individual developing severe disease if they contract COVID-19 based on a combination of genetic and clinical factors.
Under the terms of the companies' three-year deal, Infinity Biologix will collaborate with Genetic Technologies on the production, distribution, sales, and marketing of the test, which will be sold under the "powered by GeneType" brand.
Infinity Biologix — formerly RUCDR Infinite Biologics and recently spun out of Rutgers University — will make minimum payments to Genetic Technologies of $2.9 million over the term of the partnership to maintain the deal's exclusivity. This includes an initial $50,000 upfront payment and minimum payments totaling $850,000 in the first year, with payments of $1.0 million in subsequent years.
Piscataway, New Jersey-based Infinity Biologix will receive an underlying royalty of $10 per test and may terminate the arrangement at any time with 60 days' notice to Genetic Technologies.
Additional terms were not disclosed.
Infinity Biologix, which developed the first saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 test to receive US Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization, currently has the capacity to process over 100,000 of the COVID-19 risk tests a day across its two primary labs, according to Genetic Technologies.
"Our COVID-19 risk test is a crucial product that will provide individuals with the ability to understand their personal risk associated with contracting a serious case of this disease," Genetic Technologies CEO Simon Morriss said in a statement. "Alongside existing treatment options and vaccines, we believe this test will enable more insightful decisions for states, workplaces and individuals on pathways forward in managing this pandemic."