Paradigm’s COVID-19 Response 

by Ruth Seigel

COVID-19 arrived in Arizona, Paradigm Laboratories founder and CEO Ethan Sasz wanted to play a role in keeping Arizonans safe and healthy. A high-complexity molecular and infectious disease diagnostic laboratory founded in 2013 in Tucson, Paradigm quickly pivoted its business and partnered with government leaders to meet the mounting requirement for statewide mass accurate and rapid diagnostic testing.

With a focus on eliminating long wait times and offering better community care, Paradigm implemented an online appointment system and created a seamless sample collection and lab processing solution for rapid results turnaround. The all-inclusive solution involves EUA/FDA validated COVID-19 RT-qPCR test using Nasopharyngeal swab collection method (considered the gold standard by the CDC) and in-house laboratory diagnosis. No outsourcing occurs, which, in turn, offers faster, reliable results in 24–48 hours.

Since July 2020, the healthcare solutions company has opened two labs in Phoenix and Tempe (in addition to Tucson), grown from 12 to 260 employees and, importantly, processed more than 720,000 COVID-19 tests for state and county health departments, employers, schools and businesses, including residential care facilities. Paradigm’s on-site, mobile community testing locations are quickly deployed and can be found in six Arizona counties as well as Mesa Gateway and Tucson international airports.

Running a business while making an impact for the common good is intrinsic to Sasz, a U.S. Navy veteran who served as an enlisted corpsman. “When COVID-19 subsides, business leaders will take time to reflect on the past year — opportunities that arose for their business and how they might have reacted differently. At Paradigm, everyone, including myself, will echo the sentiment that we did our best to tangibly help our community during a time of crisis.” And that is exactly what the company set out to do from the beginning. 

The biosciences laboratory’s efforts earned them highly notable recognition on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies.

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