January 30, 2021
Today, in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), MAKO Medical Laboratories, a national leader in COVID-19 testing, identified the first occurrence of the B.1.1.7 variant of the novel coronavirus in South Carolina. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as of January 28, 315 cases of the B 1.1.7 variant have been identified in 28 states.
“MAKO is proud to partner with state and local health departments across the country, including SCDHEC, to provide rapid, reliable, and actionable results,” said Steve Hoover, Vice President of Laboratory Operations at MAKO Medical. “Using next-generation sequencing technology, we can analyze these samples to understand the presence of variants better and provide accurate information to health officials. We continue to provide a one-stop solution to providers for laboratory services in response to COVID-19.”
The B.1.1.7 variant was first detected in the United Kingdom in September and detected in several other countries as of late 2020. According to the CDC, B.1.1.7 and other variants are highly contagious and could trigger inaccurate PCR and Antigen test results if the laboratory does not test for multiple viral genes causing the virus to spread even further.
A College of American Pathologists (CAP) accredited laboratory with more than 4 million COVID-19 tests performed since April, MAKO Medical uses industry-leading testing assays, including the Applied Biosystems TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Assay. MAKO is also utilizing a new Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) research panel as a part of their work identifying the new mutations and variants. This research-only platform allows for the mapping of more than 99% of the SARS-Cov-2 genome and is specifically able to detect the B.1.1.7 variant along with many other variants.
MAKO Medical operates more than 70,000 square feet of laboratory space across two North Carolina facilities, one in Henderson and one in Raleigh. The Henderson facility was recently expanded in response to COVID-19, increasing the lab’s capacity from 50,000 COVID-19 tests per day to over 100,000 tests per day. In the past 12 months, the MAKO team has grown from 350 people to more than 1,000.
2020 Highlights:
- In March, Forbes Magazine included MAKO Medical in its inaugural list of America’s Best Startup Employers. Only 500 companies nationwide earned the distinction.
- In April, MAKO Medical swiftly transformed its laboratory operations to begin providing COVID-19 services.
- In August, MAKO Medical announced the company scored 100% on CAP COVID Proficiency Testing, demonstrating MAKO’s commitment to quality lab results.
- MAKO Medical is committed to the U.S. Military. At MAKO’s founding, leaders carved out divisions of the company to hire U.S. military veterans. These teams are foundational to MAKO’s elite and high touch client services model. In November, MAKO held its first Veterans Day lunch to honor veterans. The company served a free meal to all Vance County veterans and their family members.
INCLUDED PHOTO: MAKO Medical team members processing testing samples in the Henderson, NC laboratory.
About MAKO Medical
Founded in 2014, MAKO Medical is a diagnostics partner for businesses, physicians, urgent care facilities, and hospitals around the United States. MAKO Medical has recruited chemists and scientists to provide industry-leading innovation. MAKO Medical Laboratories’ methods and assays are validated for reproducibility, precision, and accuracy. MAKO Medical invests heavily in state-of-the-art instrumentation and technology. To learn more, visit makomedical.com.