September 2026—Seegene has released findings from an analysis of approximately 260,000 pediatric respiratory PCR test results collected over 42 months from children aged zero to five years. Analysis using the company’s STAgora platform found frequent co-detection of viral and pneumonia-associated bacterial respiratory pathogens. Respiratory viral panel testing yielded a positivity rate of 87 percent, and among those positive cases, 78 percent were also found to carry pneumonia-causing bacterial pathogens. Similarly, pneumonia-causing bacterial panel testing showed a positivity rate of 76 percent, with 88 percent of positive cases also testing positive for viral pathogens. The findings indicate that pathogen-specific testing alone may not adequately capture co-detection patterns frequently observed in real-world clinical settings: Comprehensive respiratory PCR testing showed a 96 percent positivity rate; among those positive results, 82 percent involved the detection of at least two pathogens.
In a separate release, the company announced the launch of the Global Million Clinical Study, which aims to evaluate the clinical utility and potential impact of syndromic PCR testing using real-world data. The project is scheduled to begin in South Korea and at health care institutions worldwide to accumulate large-scale testing data and assess the clinical value of disease-specific testing approaches for major infectious diseases. The goal is to build the scientific basis for new testing standards and support a more comprehensive and accurate diagnostic environment.