Abbott Labs to ship 4M coronavirus antibody tests this month
Blood tests will show if person was previously infected with COVID-19
President Trump says the U.S. has done more coronavirus testing than any other country in the world.
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Health care company Abbott Labs announced that it will start shipping new coronavirus antibody blood tests Thursday.
The new lab-based blood test adds to Abbott’s two other COVID-19 tests. The company said the new tests will show if a person has previously been infected, helping health experts gain a greater understanding of the virus and support the development of treatments and vaccines.
Abbott’s new lab COVID-19 antibody test will run on Abbott’s ARCHITECT i1000SR and i2000SR laboratory instruments. (Abbott Labs)
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Abbott expects to ship 4 million tests this month and will ramp up to 20 million per month in the U.S. by June. The machines that run the new tests can run as many as 200 tests per hour.
President Trump praised the company’s efforts during a White House coronavirus task force news briefing Wednesday.
“If you look at Abbott, what they’ve come up within a short period of time, they’ve been incredible,” Trump said.
Abbott scientist creates SARS-CoV-2 IgG kit samples to run on its ARCHITECT i1000SR and i2000SR lab instruments. (Abbott Labs)
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Robert B. Ford, president and CEO of Abbott, said the company’s employees have been “working around the clock” on the tests.
“We continue to contribute in a significant and meaningful way by providing new solutions across our diagnostics testing platforms,” he said in a written statement.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABT | ABBOTT LABORATORIES | 115.75 | -0.70 | -0.60% |