COVID-19 testing samples are being processed at Charnwood’s Lighthouse Lab

As part of the company’s collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care in aid of the UK Government’s NHS Test and Trace programme, COVID-19 testing samples are being processed at Charnwood’s Lighthouse Lab.

Operated by PerkinElmer Genomics, the 24-hour facility, which has a team of four-hundred scientists, began preparing samples earlier in December and technicians, researchers and operations personnel will test up to fifty thousand samples per day by early 2021.

Managing Director for UK and Ireland, PerkinElmer, Miles Burrows, stated: “PerkinElmer’s ability to draw on expertise from our operations across the globe has enabled us to rapidly build a facility that will apply our best-in-class technologies to efficiently test individuals and identify those carrying the virus. In addition to assisting the DHSC to ramp up the nation’s testing capacity, this lab has created hundreds of new jobs locally. This has allowed us to develop and deploy a team who are ready to play such an essential role in managing this pandemic.”

Lord Bethell, Health Minister, stated: “I am delighted the new Lighthouse Lab in Charnwood is now up and running. The lab is part of Britain’s largest-ever network of diagnostic testing facilities and will support our strategy to stop the spread of the virus by helping us boost testing capacity and speed-up turnaround times. I’d like to thank everyone involved in the Charnwood lab who will play such an integral role in helping people get their test results as quickly as possible. The sooner test results are received, the sooner we can take swift action to trace the contacts of those people who test positive, and the sooner those who test negative can get back to normal life.”

Director for Charnwood Campus, Gosia Khrais, stated: “I would like to welcome Department of Health and Social Care and PerkinElmer as new occupiers on the site. The addition of the DHSC and PerkinElmer to the stronghold of science driven organisations here is fantastic news for Charnwood and our local economy. It would not have happened without an effort of a number of stakeholders, our local Council and MP, as well as of the committed design and construction team that delivered this fast-paced project on time.”