Biodesix and Boulder Community Health Offer Drive-up COVID-19 Testing

Drive-up Testing Sites Offer Appointments for Patients ~

BOULDER, CO, May 20, 2020 – Biodesix, Inc., a leading diagnostic company in lung disease, announced today that it has partnered with Boulder Community Health (BCH), a community owned-and-operated not-for-profit health system, to offer expanded COVID-19 testing in the greater Boulder, CO area. The Biodesix SARS-CoV-2 ddPCR™ Test detects COVID-19 with greater sensitivity than other available tests, and is now accessible by appointment at drive-up locations in Boulder and Erie.

“Controlling the spread of COVID-19 has been a significant challenge from the start, and has required collective, swift and focused action from every corner of the health care community,” said Scott Hutton, CEO of Biodesix. “Biodesix is proud to have joined the fight early and found a way to positively give back. We have increased our Boulder lab’s capacity to process the ddPCR test from 1,000 to 2,400 tests per day and reduced the average turnaround time for test results from an average of 72 hours to roughly 24 hours. This has allowed us to focus on increasing and improving access to COVID-19 testing for our local community.”

“Providing access to testing is a critical component of our COVID-19 response plan,” said Dr. Robert Vissers, CEO and President of BCH. “We’re able to administer the test quickly and safely at our drive-up testing sites, then provide results in about a day. It’s an extremely efficient and safe way to expand access to testing for our community and to better understand the prevalence of COVID-19 in Boulder County.”

Testing is available with an order from a physician for:  

• Patients currently experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, which include fever, new cough/shortness of breath, or two or more of the following: loss of taste/smell, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat.
• Individuals who have had close contact with someone with a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19, even if they do not have symptoms.

Individuals wanting to be tested should contact their primary care physician or the BCH COVID-19 line at 303‑415‑8180 to be screened. The BCH COVID-19 line is answered Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Once an order is placed, patients will be contacted within 24 hours to schedule the test at one of BCH’s testing sites. Testing is available at both drive-up testing sites Monday through Friday by appointment only. COVID-19 test samples are collected at the testing sites, then sent to Biodesix’s CAP-accredited, CLIA-certified, NYS CLEP-approved, and ISO 13485-certified high-complexity clinical laboratory in Boulder for processing.

About Biodesix

Biodesix is a leading diagnostic company with a focus in lung disease. The Company develops diagnostic tests addressing important clinical questions by combining multi-omics through the power of artificial intelligence. Biodesix is the first company to offer six non-invasive tests for patients with diseases of the lung. Biodesix launched the SARS-CoV-2 ddPCR™ test and the Platelia SARS-CoV-2 Total Ab in response to the global pandemic and virus that impacts the lung and causes COVID-19. The blood-based Biodesix Lung Reflex® strategy for lung cancer patients integrates the GeneStrat® and VeriStrat® tests to support treatment decisions with results in 72 hours, expediting time to treatment. The blood-based Nodify Lung™ nodule risk assessment testing strategy consisting of the Nodify XL2™ test and the Nodify CDT™ test evaluates the risk of malignancy in incidental pulmonary nodules, enabling physicians to better triage patients to the most appropriate course of action. Biodesix also collaborates with many of the world’s leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to solve complex diagnostic challenges in lung disease. For more information about Biodesix, please visit www.biodesix.com.

About Boulder Community Health

Boulder Community Health is a non-profit, independent, integrated, regional health system with facilities throughout Boulder and Broomfield counties.  Boulder Community Health is known across Colorado for its clinical excellence in heart care, neurosurgery, stroke care, orthopedics and cancer care.  Our mission is to provide our community with the highest value health care in an innovative, patient-centric environment. Our vision: We are partnering to create and care for the healthiest community in the nation.

For more information, visit www.bch.org and connect with BCH on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.