State Opens New PerkinElmer COVID-19 Laboratory

Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the opening of the state’s new laboratory in Valencia in Los Angeles County to increase the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity and reduce test turnaround time. In partnership with PerkinElmer, the new $25 million lab will begin processing tests starting in November and will work toward full capacity of 150,000 tests per day by March 2021.

Under its contract with the State of California, PerkinElmer will be required to turn around PCR test results within 24-48 hours. The contract additionally includes provisions to enable PerkinElmer to adopt new test processing technologies as they become available. The per-test cost is anticipated to be $30.78 when the target of 150,000 tests per day is reached. To support the contract at the lowest cost to taxpayers, the state will additionally enter into a contract for third-party billing services to recoup costs from health insurance companies or other payers. California additionally worked with San Mateo County-based health technology company Color to create a user-friendly front-end interface for the state’s expanded testing program. Recall, the Newsom Administration announced the partnership with PerkinElmer in late August 2020.

The full press announcement from the Newsom Administration is available here.