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MISSOULA, Mont., Dec. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FYR Diagnostics, a Missoula-based biotech company, has executed a contract with the State of Montana that will increase statewide COVID-19 testing capacity and reduce the time patients must wait to receive results. Adding FYR as a primary testing resource will keep test processing within Montana and alleviate pressure on the state laboratory in Helena.
"Even with the roll-out of vaccines, the need for fast, accurate, high-volume COVID-19 testing will continue for the foreseeable future," said Dr. Sarj Patel, President of FYR. "We are committed to helping our community."
The contract was the result of efforts to improve local testing options by the Montana COVID-19 taskforce, led by Major General Matthew Quinn, and by Jim Murphy from the Montana Department of Health. Patient samples from healthcare partners in Western Montana will be sent to FYR's Missoula-based clinical diagnostic laboratory for processing using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), considered the gold standard of COVID-19 testing.