Abbott’s newly FDA-approved test touted by Trump that can diagnose coronavirus in just 5 MINUTES will ship its first batch of 50,000 kits tomorrow
- Abbott Laboratories’ new coronavirus test that can detect a positive result in just five minutes was approved by the FDA last week
- The medical device company, based in Illinois, expects to roll out its test beginning April 1
- Officials hope to manufacture at least 50,000 tests per day to use in hospitals, urgent care clinics and doctors’ offices
- President Trump presented the test to reporters during a press conference on Monday and called it ‘highly accurate’
- In the US, there are more than 164,000 confirmed cases of the virus and more than 3,000 deaths
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Abbott Laboratories’ newly-approved five-minute coronavirus test will begin shipping tomorrow, on April 1.
The medical device company, based in Illinois, received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration on two weeks ago under Emergency Use Authorization.
Abbott said it is ramping up production to 50,000 nasal swab tests – known as ID NOW COVID-19 – per day.
Officials at the company say the test can be used anywhere, including hospitals, urgent care clinics and even doctors’ offices.
The US has more cases of the virus than other country, but healthcare workers are still struggling to keep up with the demand and test the thousands of people that are needed to contain the novel coronavirus.
Abbott Laboratories’ new coronavirus test (pictured) that can detect a positive result in just five minutes was approved by the FDA last week
The medical device company, based in Illinois (pictured), expects to roll out its first batch of 50,000 beginning April 1
President Donald Trump (pictured) presented the test to reporters during a press conference on Monday and called it ‘highly accurate’
‘This is a significant leap forward,’ John Frels, vice president of research and development at Abbott, said in an interview with Reuters.
‘You can get a positive result in five minutes and a negative result in 13 minutes. You can walk into a clinic and literally get results while you are there.’
President Donald Trump presented the new machine at a press conference and Monday, even doing a little show-and-tell.
‘This is the first one on the line,’ Trump said as he took the test out of the box, and called it ‘highly accurate.’
He explained that the FDA approved Abbott’s new test in just four weeks as opposed to the usual months-long timeline.
‘A point of care test is a test that gives you a result where you’re getting care,’ FDA Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn said.
‘Just like tests for flu or strep, where you go to the doctors, you get the test done, you can get an answer within minutes having this test done.’
It is the second test to be approved by the FDA that can be used directly in physicians’ offices and other community healthcare settings and promptly provide results to patients.
Last week, the FDA approved a test made by Cepheid that can be used at the point of care.
‘The COVID-19 pandemic will be fought on multiple fronts, and a portable molecular test that offers results in minutes adds to the broad range of diagnostic solutions needed to combat this virus,’ said Robert Ford, president and chief operating officer at Abbott, in a statement.
Abbott CEO Miles White – who retires today – told CNBC on Monday that despite 50,000 tests a day sounding like a significant number, it may not be enough.
The company is ‘putting a lot of effort…into capacity expansion because, while 50,000 a day sounds like a lot, it’s not enough…and for a while we’ll be allocating and prioritizing to high-need areas,’ White said.
‘We know that fighting this virus, and being able to go back to a world that’s more normal, is going to require a lot of testing in the right places with rapid turnaround and, fortunately, we have multiple formats to do that with.’
Worldwide, there are more than 803,000 confirmed cases of the virus and more than 39,000 deaths.
In the US, more than 164,000 people have been infected and more than 3,000 people have died.
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