May 18, 2020
Greg Galvin, MS ’82, Ph.D. ’84, MBA ’93, is pioneering same-day COVID-19 testing
Located just over four miles from Cornell’s Ithaca campus, biotechnology company Rheonix, Inc., specializes in rapid, automated and affordable molecular testing. Led by founder and CEO Dr. Greg Galvin, Rheonix has partnered with local medical services to bring same-day COVID-19 testing to Ithaca and Binghamton.
As the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Tompkins and nearby counties, Rheonix recognized the need for greater and faster testing capacity than was initially available. The company had recently finished an application to the Food and Drug Administration for its first clinical test, an assay for sexually transmitted infections. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the genetic sequences used in identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, Rheonix adapted their product to target the novel coronavirus.
“I hope that our governments, and society in general, have learned lessons from this experience that will position us much better to respond to the next pandemic.”
Rheonix’s COVID-19 MDx Assay received emergency use authorization from the FDA in late April. The test enables fully automated, same-day detection of the virus directly from respiratory samples. Ideal for rural and regional health networks with small- to medium-capacity labs, the instruments are now in use locally by Cayuga Medical Center, in Ithaca, and United Health Services of Binghamton.
