- 01FebriDx active at 215 sites in 26 states.
- 02Up to 405 more sites being evaluated.
- 03Two health-system groups join rollout across 40+ sites.
Lumos Diagnostics’ (ASX: LDX) FebriDx rapid point-of-care blood test to diagnose bacterial and viral acute respiratory infections (ARI) continues to gain commercial traction across its priority top 100 US urgent care groups.
The company has expanded the use of FebriDx to 215 live sites across 26 states that accept up to 1.2 million ARI patient visits per year, and is also evaluating a further 405 urgent care sites registering up to 2.2 million ARI patient visits per year.
Two new US urgent care groups owned and operated by major US health systems have moved into the network rollout stage, with FebriDx to be deployed across more than 40 group sites.
They include a large integrated regional health system, along with a leading academic medical centre and health system operating a range of walk-in care services as an ambulatory entry point to a broader specialist, imaging, and hospital network.
These deployments align to the pathway demonstrated with existing customer WellStreet Urgent Care, which conducted a successful pilot program and initially expanded to 44 sites before being deployed across WellStreet’s network of more than 165 sites.
Validation Stage Advancing
Two additional urgent care groups, also owned and operated by major US health systems, are advancing validation activities across more than 45 sites comprising assessment of clinical performance, reimbursement, workflow integration, and health-economic impact to inform decisions on broader deployment.
One of the groups is a multi-state faith-based and community-focused health system with urgent care services spanning several local markets and providing in-person and virtual access for patients with minor illnesses and injuries.
The other is a large Pacific Northwest health system operating a consumer-oriented urgent care network with extended hours and seven-day access to treat common acute presentations including respiratory infections, influenza-like illness, sore throat and colds.
“Clinical and economic validation is the gateway to scale in these networks and having two more health system-owned groups running that work across more than 45 sites adds to the depth in our pipeline,” chief executive officer Doug Ward said.
Frontline Respiratory Care
Mr Ward said the new urgent care group clients signalled that FebriDx was earning a place in frontline respiratory care.
“These are sophisticated organisations that evaluate diagnostics on clinical utility, workflow fit and economics before committing sites, and they are now moving into rollout ahead of the respiratory season,” he added.
“Collectively, these four groups represent a meaningful step forward against our top 100 urgent care target list and reflect growing recognition that rapid differentiation of bacterial from viral ARI can improve patient management and antibiotic stewardship at the point-of-care.”
“They are following the same path we established with WellStreet – pilot, validate, then expand — and the repeatability of this model provides us with a strong foundation for scaling our top 100 urgent care group strategy with confidence.”
ARIs and Antibiotics
Acute respiratory infections display symptoms such as the common cold—sore throat, cough, congestion, and runny nose—and are the most frequent reason for seeking medical advice and antibiotic prescriptions.
While research shows the majority of ARIs are caused by viruses and do not require antibiotics, differentiating between bacterial and viral infection can be challenging due to an overlap in signs and symptoms.
FebriDx detects elevated levels of two proteins created by the body’s immune response to help differentiate between bacterial and non-bacterial infections using a fingerstick blood sample and delivers results in just 10 minutes.
Antibiotics are currently prescribed inappropriately in up to 50% of cases and antibiotic resistance has become a major global health threat contributing to hundreds of thousands of deaths globally.
FebriDx aims to support clinicians with their decisions about antibiotic use and improve antibiotic stewardship.
Get the wire before the market opens.
The ASX small-cap stories that matter, filed before 9am AEST. Curated by the Small Caps desk.