~CPT Medical Now a Top Producer of COVID-19 Nasopharyngeal Specimen Collection Kits with CDC Recommended Viral Transport Medium~
GREENVILLE, SC June 25, 2020 – Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large portion of the testing shortage has been attributed to a difficulty for laboratories in obtaining both nasopharyngeal swabs and viral transport media (VTM). In recent weeks, CPT Medical, a surgical pack and kit manufacturing firm based in Greenville, SC, has endeavored to find solutions for this supply shortage and are now producing COVID-19 specimen collection kits with nasopharyngeal swabs and CDC recommended VTM for hospitals, nursing homes, and physician’s offices throughout the US.
As a company that is accustomed to suiting the shifting needs of their customers, CPT Medical has adapted swiftly to the current COVID-19 testing demands. They’ve added production of these collection kits to their production of customized surgical kits, packs, and standard procedure trays which they’ve manufactured for over 15 years. With employees working around the clock, they are now one of the top producers in the country of these COVID-19 specimen collection kits, yielding 20,000 per day for distribution. They’ve already shipped 400,000 across the US and expect to increase their production to 100,000 collection kits per day in the near future.
CPT is also manufacturing the CDC recommended formula VTM in bulk to be sold on its own to laboratories or testing sites that may already have the sample collection swabs, but still need a quality VTM by itself. Nasopharyngeal swabs can also be purchased separately. While VTM is used for several types of diagnostic tests, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a spike in demand for its use with the COVID-19 RT-PCR assays or molecular diagnostic tests that are integral to opening up America again. CPT is currently producing 100,000 viral transport mediums per week and expects to increase that to 500,000 per week during the next few weeks.
It has been reported that testing sensitivity can be effected by the VTM used in storing, preserving, and transporting specimens. This is why having the CDC recommended formula is significant in ensuring reliable testing results and lowering the amount of false negative diagnoses that patients receive.
“Having quality supplies on hand for COVID-19 testing is essential in keeping the economy moving forward safely as we all shift into phases of reopening the country,” said Kevin Murdock, founder of CPT Medical. “That’s why we have made it our mission during this pandemic to find and manufacture ourselves the best in testing supplies to do our part in continuing to flatten the curve while helping more people receive accurate diagnostic results.”
Developed in CPT Medical’s FDA registered facility under CDC guidelines, the specimen collection kits offered are bulk kits for nursing homes, hospitals, laboratories, and large physician’s offices as well as individual kits for laboratories. Produced in collaboration with Premier Medical Laboratory Services, a COLA and CLIA regulated laboratory, the collection kits serve as COVID-19 diagnostic testing and Respiratory Pathogen Profile (RPP) kits.
To order COVID-19 specimen collection kits or surgical trays, packs, and kits or for more information, healthcare providers can call 866-584-3713 or visit www.cptmed.com.