Coronavirus point-of-care test by Abbott Laboratories to ship Wednesday
Abbott said it will produce 50,000 ID NOW nasal swab tests per day
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Abbott Laboratories' ID NOW COVID-19 point-of-care test will be shipped to hospitals, care clinics and doctors' offices across the country starting Wednesday. The company says it will ramp up its production of the nasal swab tests to 50,000 kits per day.
A 5-minute test for the COVID-19 virus developed by Abbott Laboratories sits on a table after President Trump spoke about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, March 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
"I’m very proud of FDA staff’s work in the last few months to expedite the availability of testing in this country,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hanh said during a coronavirus task force briefing on Monday. "I’m also incredibly appreciative of private industries’ ingenuity and willingness to work with us quickly to develop and distribute those tests.”
Hahn added that the FDA worked together with Abbott to make sure they had a "fast, reliable, and accurate test to market” and called the test a "patient-centered approach.”
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A 5-minute test kit for COVID-19 developed by Abbott Laboratories sits on a table ahead of a briefing by President Trump about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The test, which can be done right at your doctor's office, provides positive results for coronavirus in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes.
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Point-of-care tests like the one produced by Abbott normally take about nine to 12 months to develop, but Abbott was able to expedite the test to roughly three or four weeks after it received FDA approval last week.
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President Donald Trump opens a box containing a 5-minute test for COVID-19 from Abbott Laboratories as Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Ma
The news comes as President Trump and the Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday that the United States has tested over 1 million people, which Trump called a "milestone in our war against the coronavirus.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABT | ABBOTT LABORATORIES | 118.95 | +1.00 | +0.85% |
The medical device company, based in Illinois, received an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA two weeks ago in order to increase testing capabilities across the country.