Kroger Health Partners with Gauss to Provide Smartphone-Enabled COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Home Tests

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Feb 16, 2021, 06:00 ET

CINCINNATI, Feb. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kroger Health, the health care division of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), today announced plans to offer the first smartphone-enabled, at-home Gauss COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Kit to patients nationwide, expanding the company's existing portfolio of in-clinic and employer-focused COVID-19 testing solutions.

Kroger Health Partners with Gauss to Provide Smartphone-Enabled COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Home Tests

The new at-home testing solution, which is currently awaiting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), will offer affordable access to cutting-edge testing technology developed by Gauss, a leader in computer vision-aided healthcare diagnostics. Once authorized, it will be the first rapid COVID-19 test that can be fully performed using only a smartphone and a lateral flow assay (similar to an at-home pregnancy test), without involving a laboratory, a telemedicine visit or any specialized electronics. Last month, Gauss produced its first 1.5 million tests, which will be available for immediate distribution when the test receives EUA from the FDA, and the company has the capability to produce up to 30 million tests per month.

Kroger Health expects the at-home rapid antigen test will be available to purchase on Kroger.com and over the counter at its 2,200 pharmacies nationwide.

"Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kroger Heath has remained committed to helping people live healthier lives by offering a variety of COVID-19 testing solutions supported by our multi-disciplinary team of licensed, trained and experienced healthcare providers," said Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health. "We're proud to partner with Gauss to expand our COVIDCare+ suite with the forthcoming launch of this affordable, innovative solution."

To use the test, patients follow simple step-by-step video instructions in an app to properly collect the nasal swab and complete the rapid antigen test. After 15 minutes, the app prompts the patient to scan their rapid test. The app uses patent-pending, artificial-intelligence-based technology to provide patients with their results in seconds, helping minimize reader variability. To fulfill legal reporting requirements, the consumer-friendly app seamlessly also shares the reliable, secure results with appropriate public health agencies.

"Public health leaders agree that people need access to on-demand, reliable, rapid testing in their own homes, and that's exactly what our test delivers," said Siddarth Satish, Gauss Founder and CEO. "As a trusted resource for COVID-19 related solutions with a broad national footprint, Kroger Health is an ideal partner to dramatically expand access for millions of Americans through our smartphone-powered, at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen test."

The test, developed by Gauss and Cellex, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in rapid diagnostics, is powered by an encrypted, easy-to-use smartphone app developed by Gauss's team of clinical and technology leaders. According to results of a clinical trial submitted to the FDA in support of the solutions EUA application, the testing solution demonstrated a 93% positive agreement and 99% negative percent agreement compared to high-sensitivity, emergency-use-authorized PCR tests.

Kroger Health offers a variety of COVID-19 testing solutions, including viral and antibody testing. Learn more at Kroger.com/CovidCare.

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To download images of the Gauss COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Kit, please visit here.

About Kroger Health:
Kroger Health, the healthcare division of The Kroger Co., is one of America's leading retail healthcare organizations, with over 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics in 35 states serving more than 14 million customers. Our team of 22,000 healthcare practitioners – from pharmacists and nurse practitioners, to dietitians and technicians – are committed to helping people live healthier lives. We believe in practicing at the top of our licenses and enabling "food as medicine" to help prevent or manage certain diseases. We are dedicated to providing testing, vaccination and wellness services to help Americans combat the COVID-19 crisis. Learn more at Kroger.com/CovidCare.

About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

About Gauss:
Gauss is a leader in computer vision in healthcare. Founded in 2011, Gauss's mission is to digitally augment clinicians with software that radically improves diagnostic accuracy and leads to improved patient safety and clinical outcomes. Gauss's flagship product, Triton, leverages computer vision on the iPhone to monitor surgical and obstetric bleeding in real time and notifies clinicians who can enact timely intervention and treatment for hemorrhage. Triton was granted De Novo clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014, as the first-ever computer vision software for surgical use and has been widely adopted by health systems across the United States. Gauss is a recipient of the Apple Design Award, which recognizes the best in design, innovation and technology on Apple platforms. In September 2020, Gauss announced a partnership with Cellex, Inc. to develop one of the first rapid, at-home tests for COVID-19. Gauss is based in Menlo Park, CA and is backed by SoftBank Ventures, Promus Ventures, the Stanford-StartX Fund, and the strategic innovation arms of several US health systems. For more information, visit www.gauss.com.

SOURCE The Kroger Co.