Mayor Eric Garcetti Visits Coronavirus Vaccination Site In Los Angeles With CORE Chairperson Sean Penn And CEO Ann Lee
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 30: People wait in line at a coronavirus testing and vaccination site at Lincoln Park on December 30, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles will use three existing testing sites as vaccination centers for healthcare workers. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

To help schools eyeing a return to in-person classes, San Diego biotech Biocept is bringing coronavirus testing to community colleges throughout the state of California.

The company recently announced a testing partnership with the Foundation for California Community Colleges, a nonprofit group that supports 116 community colleges in the area, serving more than 2 million students. The included schools will be able to administer coronavirus tests to students and staff, send samples to the local lab of Biocept and receive results within 48 hours.

According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Biocept CEO Michael Nall stated that biotech started to offer coronavirus testing around last year after the company realized that it had the equipment, expertise, and laboratory certifications to run the tests. He also added that Biocept started to use a test made by Thermo Fisher to detect genetic material from the coronavirus in nasal swabs.

Moreover, Nall also added that they did not know what they were getting into when they started their testings. They also did not know whether they should expect hundreds of tests a week or thousands.

But Biocept had its answers in just weeks as their laboratory processed up to 15,000 samples a week at one point. The company has received more than 300,000 tests, with most coming from nursing homes in California.

Increased Revenue

Biocept's strategy has also paid off for the biotech, which charges around $100 for the testing process. Based on public documents, last year, Biocept reported $27 million in revenue and $23 million of which came from the testings in coronavirus.

Compared to the company's revenue in 2019, there is a huge difference. The company only gained $5.5 million in 2019, Proactive Investors reported.

In the last three months of 2020, Biocept posted its first profitable quarter in the history of the company. The company is currently using those profits to bankroll its cancer detection work, which includes a test designed to spot whether cancer cells have entered the brain or spinal cord.

Meanwhile, the company's spokesperson stated that Biocept's coronavirus testing program now includes places like Merced Community College, Santa Monica College, Monterey Peninsula College, together with ten other colleges that have already received the test or soon will. Other colleges may also join in the coming weeks and months, Business Wire via Yahoo reported.

Biocept's CEO also expects demand for testing to peak for student-athletes, who Nall states need to be tested regularly before games and other competitions. He also knows that the demand will eventually wane as more individuals get vaccinated, and the spread of the virus slows.

Furthermore, Nall stated that beyond this year is hard for anybody to predict, but they think the need for testing is going to be a need even in the future.

On the other hand, public health officer Dr. Wilma Wooten shared during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday that there are already signs that the state is headed in the right direction but still has ways to go.

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WATCH: Biocept offers coronavirus tests for California community colleges, hosts neuro-oncology webinar FROM-Proactive