Co-Diagnostics says medical journal reports shows its test detected COVID-19 in tumor of cancer patient later diagnosed with coronavirus

Co-Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:CODX) announced Tuesday that a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology shows that its coronavirus test kits could detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cancer tissue, even before symptoms occur. The paper described a study conducted in Italy of the company’s Logix Smart COVID-19 test kits, which was used to test a tumor removed from a cancer patient who later became symptomatic and was diagnosed with the coronavirus. The tumor, removed from the patient’s tongue, was embedded in a formalin-fixed paraffin (FFPE) and later tested, along with non-cancer tissue removed from the patient's salivary glands and lymph nodes. READ: Co-Diagnostics stock gains after Litchfield Research doubles its price target on coronavirus test sales Co-Diagnostics’ test successfully detected the coronavirus in the FFPE and salivary gland samples, and returned negative on the lymph node samples, which is consistent with where the virus is known to be found, the company said.  "We are pleased that the quality of our innovative Logix Smart COVID-19 test kit has been demonstrated once again by this impressive and important study," CEO Dwight Egan said in a statement. "Being able to detect the presence of the virus before symptoms even occur illustrates the sensitivity and value of our test, especially in new sample types. The world needs every advantage we can get in our battle against this deadly disease, and we believe our test has the attributes needed to benefit millions across the globe." The article also discussed a study in China in which the researchers were unable to detect the virus in lung FFPE samples of coronavirus patients because they lacked a sufficiently robust test. Co-Diagnostics’ Logix Smart test has earned Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration and a CE Mark from European regulators. It is currently available to all clinical laboratories certified under Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and is authorized to be used for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Co-Diagnostics’ Logix Smart test has earned Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration and a CE Mark from European regulators. Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel