“ The $415 diagnostic test has been used by about 10,000 people, creating a “tremendous database,” according to Bruce Patterson, the former Stanford virologist who leads the company. The results, Patterson said, can be used to inform personalized treatment protocols typically administered by the patients’ primary care providers. A company spokeswoman said many long-haulers pay an additional $250 for a follow-up consultation and buy additional tests to check how the therapy is working. She said the company recognizes that the data need to “evolve” and said that IncellDX is helping people in the meantime.
Patterson, who said he is working on contracts for clinical trials of a “drug combination that we think works,” said it is up to patients and their doctors to decide how to proceed with treatment. “We do what clinical pathologists should do: ‘Here is a test report, you treat accordingly,’” he said. Company doctors are available to offer guidance, Patterson said.”