Radeas Labs, a Wake Forest bioscience company, is making an impact in the fight against the global pandemic.
Radeas has had a long-time desire to invest in the local community. With the arrival of an international health emergency, this aspiration combined with their sophisticated technology that lends itself to quick, efficient virus testing, has positioned the growing company to be able to offer free, rapid, drive-through COVID-19 testing in Wake Forest.
Radeas is named after its guiding principle: radical ideas. Dr. Phil Radford, Laboratory Director and CEO, explains that radical ideas are what set Radeas apart and bring innovation to the market. Founded in Wake Forest in 2012, their commitment to innovation has allowed the company to achieve a national reach. Radeas currently operates in thirty-eight states and offers comprehensive laboratory services ranging from toxicology, to blood testing, to laboratory consulting.
Radeas demonstrates the value of local research and technology in the midst of the pandemic. The lab not only administers the COVID-19 testing, but technicians also process the samples on-site, allowing for the delivery of rapid and accurate results. Today, recognizing that rapid testing makes all the difference in the fight against the virus, Radeas boasts an average turn-around time of seven hours for each COVID-19 test. With North Carolina now seeing its highest number of positive cases since the start of the virus, the prompt results given by Radeas empower the local community to quickly limit spread. Because solution-driven companies like Radeas Labs call Wake Forest home, the town is well-positioned in its fight against COVID-19.
Dr. Radford expresses that Wake Forest is the ideal home for his business. He notes that “the people, the community, and business leadership are key to our success and well-being.” In the midst of the pandemic, Dr. Radford’s story displays the synergy of the Wake Forest business community, shown by Radeas’s quick response to the virus after friends and business owners turned to the lab for help.
Currently, the drive-through testing facility is serving Wake County residents at roughly ten percent of its full testing capacity. This community-oriented focus of Dr. Radford and Radeas Labs exemplifies the general trend of Wake Forest businesses looking to make investments back into the town. “We are thankful for our community,” said Dr. Radford, “and we count it as a privilege to serve with testing during the pandemic.”
As Wake Forest continues to grow, emerging as a North Carolina leader in tech and business, the commitment of local innovators to the community enduringly sets it apart from its contemporaries as a place of big city energy with small town charm.
Radeas is located at 907 Gateway Commons Circle in Wake Forest. The lab is open for testing 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The tests are self-administered and can be completed in under ten minutes. For more information, go to: https://covid19.wakegov.com/testing/.
