Newsom Administration Announces $1.4B Testing Contract with PerkinElmer

On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California has entered into an expansive $1.4 billion contract with major diagnostics company, PerkinElmer. The contract aims to establish a new laboratory facility, expand COVID-19 laboratory testing capacity, address supply chain challenges, and reduce the cost of tests for all Californians. Specifically, PerkinElmer will increase the state’s capacity to process an additional 150,000 COVID-19 PCR diagnostic tests per day with a contracted turnaround time of 24-48 hours. PerkinElmer will begin processing tests by November 1 and will run at full capacity by no later than March 1, 2021.

The contract also includes provisions enabling PerkinElmer to adopt new emerging testing technologies and expand other testing modalities with multiple laboratory partners. The per-test cost will be $30.78 at 150,000 tests per day. Further, the state will enter into contract for a third-party billing service to recoup testing costs from health insurance companies or other payers.

CHEAC joined the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and the Health Officers Association of California (HOAC) in applauding the Newsom Administration’s activities in expanding testing capacity and reducing costs. The statement is available here.

An announcement from the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom is available here. The Department of Finance additionally made available an overview of the agreement with PerkinElmer, as well as acopy of the contract.