GS Plastic Optics, a Rochester-based manufacturer of precision polymer optics, has been awarded a contract to produce optical components for a COVID-19 antibody testing platform developed by LightDeck Diagnostics, a Boulder, Colo.-based diagnostic-testing company.
LightDeck was awarded a $35.1 million contract to increase production capacity for its point-of-care product platform through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. GS Plastics (GSPO) has been chosen as the lead source for the waveguide, which is a key component to LightDeck’s point-of-care platform detecting the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen and other indications. The waveguide will be injection molded in the Rochester facility.
GS Plastics officials noted that $5 million of the contract awarded to LightDeck will be allocated to equipment and facilities expansion at the GSPO Rochester location. An 8,000-square-foot expansion of the existing injection molding building will be home to additional presses, tooling, automation and ancillary equipment dedicated to the production of the LightDeck waveguide. The funding will enable GSPO to support LightDeck’s increase in production capacity to 1 million waveguides per month by the fall of 2022. Additionally, the project will create as many as 15 new jobs on the GSPO optics team.
“Today more than ever, our goal is to support the medical community in their great strides to improve the healthcare for our nation. Particularly during this pandemic, point-of-care testing is at the forefront of our minds, and we are dedicated to supplying precision components that are built to spec,” said GSPO CEO Andy Germanow. “We are proud to be a trusted partner with LightDeck.”
The original contract awarded to LightDeck has been funded through HHS/ASPR’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
“During the several years we have worked together with GSPO, we have built a trusting, collaborative relationship with their engineering and production teams,” said Nick Traggis, CEO of LightDeck. “Their impeccable attention to detail aligns very well with our own product strategy, and they stand as a powerful domestic partner to support the scale of our testing capabilities.”
GS Plastic Optics specializes in the custom manufacture of precision polymer optics for use in consumer, medical, machine vision and biomedical and analytical instrument marketplaces, as well as military and civilian night-vision and visible-range sighting industries.
[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer