Funded through its $35.1M grant from BARDA, the facility will allow LightDeck to scale up production of its point-of-care, ultra-rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tests

Boulder, CO – October 13, 2021 – LightDeck Diagnostics, the company leveraging planar waveguide technology to deliver lab-quality diagnostics in minutes, today announced that it has signed a 10-year lease for a 65,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in the City of Longmont, CO. The Boulder County expansion is LightDeck’s most recent move toward its next phase of commercial growth. The company, which recently won the Colorado BioSciences Association’s Company of Year, grew from 30 to 100 employees within the past year and estimates that the facility will create 200 new jobs by 2025.

“It’s exciting to take this next step toward supercharging our production capabilities,” said LightDeck CEO Nick Traggis. “We’re grateful for this opportunity to bring additional jobs to our home state of Colorado and hire more incredible people from the region; including local universities, of which many of us are alumni.”

LightDeck selected the facility at 1844 Nelson Rd. because of the company’s growing size and scope of work, and the positive fiscal and economic impacts it will have on Longmont and the local region. The lease agreement comes three months after LightDeck announced that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded it $35.1M to support domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources. By September 2022, LightDeck aims to increase the production of its COVID-19 ultra-rapid antigen and total antibody tests from 50 thousand to one million tests per month.

“LightDeck is another great example of a Colorado business that’s solving big issues through innovative means and continuing to grow ties to the local community along the way,” explained Jessica Erickson, President and CEO of The Advance Longmont Center. “We’re excited that LightDeck decided to put down roots in our city and look forward to seeing the impact they’ll make here and on a global scale.”

To learn more about LightDeck Diagnostics’ team and product platform, visit: www.LightDeckDx.com.

About LightDeck Diagnostics 

LightDeck Diagnostics believes in a new approach to healthcare, where quick and accurate diagnostic tests will be run wherever and whenever they are needed. The company’s proprietary LightDeck® platform combines an advanced laser waveguide with novel materials and patented manufacturing techniques to deliver lab-quality results anywhere, in minutes. The LightDeck platform is achieving success in veterinary diagnostics and for environmental testing. LightDeck is also introducing a portfolio of in vitro diagnostic panels, the first is an on-the-spot test for COVID-19.