Doylestown-based ProPhase Labs, a manufacturer and distributor of over-the-counter healthcare products and dietary supplements, recently completed the purchase of Confucius Plaza Medical Laboratory Corp.
Confucius is a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) accredited laboratory headquartered in New Jersey. The purchase allows ProPhase Diagnostics to conduct COVID-19 testing for both swabs and saliva. The company is working to be validated for saliva collection COVID-19 test kits.
“Confucius Labs is an ideal entry opportunity for ProPhase into the medical testing business,” Ted Karkus, ProPhase Labs CEO, said. “We are working to significantly ramp up the lab’s capacity. To accomplish this, we intend to install additional state of the art equipment, which has been identified and largely ordered.”
The lab will provide testing for the diagnosis, screening, and evaluation of diseases. In addition to COVID-19, the company hopes to test for other infectious diseases, including pneumonia, influenza, and respiratory viruses.
The goal is to process 7,000 to 8,000 tests daily during the first quarter of 2021, Karkus said, and approximately 4,000 units daily by the end of the quarter.
According to industry experts, by 2020, the global COVID-19 detection kits and consumables market is expected to reach $6.1 billion.
ProPhase Labs’ new subsidiary, ProPhase Diagnostics, owns the lab.