NEW YORK – Neochromosome said this week that it has won a six-year contract worth up to $57 million in total from New York City for COVID-19 surveillance sequencing.
Under the contract, the Long Island City-based biological engineering company will sequence swab samples from patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in the five boroughs of New York.
According to a company spokesperson, the contract was originally awarded in February 2023 but was only registered with the city last month. Neochromosome has been sequencing patient samples for the past year but is only able to invoice for the work — past and future — now that the contract is registered.
"The primary objective of this research is to furnish the health department with extensive information about the virus, which could potentially assist in the development of new medications," the spokesperson said.
The total payout is tied to the number of samples sequenced, he said, and the company does not anticipate reaching the full value of the contract.
Neochromosome said it is looking for partnerships with diagnostic labs in and around New York City to obtain COVID-19-positive samples. It already has agreements with several diagnostic labs in place that are supplying it with clinical samples but declined to disclose their names at this time.