Diagnostics firm Labcorp weighs ramping up mpox testing capacity

By Sneha S K

(Reuters) -Diagnostics firm Labcorp said it is working with U.S. health regulators to determine if it needed to ramp up its mpox testing capacity, as countries outside Africa detect a new type of the virus for the first time.

The company is processing approximately 500 mpox tests a month but can scale up to around 25,000 if needed, Marcia Eisenberg, Labcorp's chief scientific officer, told Reuters in an emailed statement.

A new form of the virus has triggered global concern as it seems to spread easily though routine close contact, prompting the World Health Organization to declare mpox a global public health emergency this month.

Since then, Sweden and Thailand have confirmed cases of the clade Ib type of the virus, outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries.

Labcorp makes a PCR test to detect mpox. It recently gained U.S. clearance for a home collection kit that it said doctors could soon order for patients 18 years or older who are suspected of mpox infection.

Other companies such as Roche have said they were working to enhance laboratory testing capacity for mpox worldwide.

Roche, in an emailed statement, said it continues to monitor the situation to assess testing needs and said its production capacities "are designed to meet fluctuating global demand".

The Swiss company said it was working with regulators in Africa on their response plans.

"We are working together to assess how to leverage existing HIV program infrastructure to integrate testing into more disease areas, including mpox," Roche said.

U.S. laboratory operator Quest Diagnostics also offers a mpox test, while Abbott Laboratories makes the Alinity m test kit, which is authorized for U.S. emergency use for mpox.

(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Krishna Chandra Eluri)