OPKO Health's BioReference Laboratories Announces New York City Schools COVID-19 Testing Program

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J., Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BioReference Laboratories, Inc., an OPKO Health company (NASDAQ:OPK), today began testing New York City principals, teachers and other staff for COVID-19, across the five boroughs, in preparation for a safer back-to-school environment.

Through a strategic collaboration with BioReference, New York City, the Department of Health and New York City Health and Hospital Corporation (NYC Health + Hospitals) will collect specimens from principals, teachers and staff members across eight locations. BioReference will then perform COVID-19 PCR tests for the principals, teachers and other school staff at its Elmwood Park, New Jersey laboratory facility. The hours of operation for collection of specimens will be 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Sunday, beginning today and concluding Monday, September 7. Registration and appointment selection is required. To register for collection of a specimen for a COVID-19 test, visit: https://appointments.bioreference.com/nycschools.

"As NYC schools prepare for the upcoming year, COVID-19 testing will play a pivotal role in supporting a safer overall classroom environment for educators, students and their families," said Jon R. Cohen, M.D., Executive Chairman of BioReference Laboratories. "The systematic measures put in place by New York City reaffirm the dedication to safety and education in New York City."

About BioReference Laboratories, Inc.
BioReference provides comprehensive testing to physicians, clinics, hospitals, employers, government units, correctional institutions and medical groups. BioReference has been working expeditiously to develop and offer test services that will yield high quality and accurate results, including a molecular test for helping with COVID-19 diagnosis and a serology test to help indicate possible COVID-19 exposure. The company is in network with the five largest health plans in the United States, operates a network of 11 laboratory locations, and is backed by a medical staff of more than 120 M.D., Ph.D. and other professional level clinicians and scientists. With a leading position in the areas of genetics, women's health, maternal fetal medicine, oncology and urology, BioReference and its specialty laboratories, GenPath and GeneDx, are advancing the course of modern medicine. For more information, visit www.bioreference.com.

About OPKO Health, Inc.
OPKO is a multinational biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company that seeks to establish industry-leading positions in large, rapidly growing markets by leveraging its discovery, development, and commercialization expertise and novel and proprietary technologies. For more information, visit www.opko.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), which statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates," and other words of similar meaning, including statements regarding the role COVID-19 testing will play in supporting a safer classroom environment, the accuracy and availability of the test and the role and value of the information provided and its impact on decisions relative to the safety of educators, students and their families, as well as other non-historical statements about our expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding our business, technologies and products, financial condition, strategies or prospects. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements. These factors include those described in the OPKO Health, Inc. Annual Reports on Form 10-K filed and to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, forward-looking statements may also be adversely affected by general market factors, competitive product development, product availability, federal and state regulations and legislation, the regulatory process for new products and indications, manufacturing issues that may arise, patent positions and litigation, among other factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. We intend that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.

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SOURCE BioReference Laboratories, Inc