At a time when India and the rest of the world are facing an acute shortage of test kits for identifying coronavirus, Abbott, a US-based global healthcare leader, has announced the launch of a new test kit that could significantly speed up the testing process.
Abbott said that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the fastest available molecular point-of-care test for the detection of novel coronavirus (Covid-19), delivering positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes. The test will run on the company's ID NOW platform, providing rapid results in a wide range of healthcare settings such as physicians' offices, urgent care clinics and hospital emergency departments.
Robert B. Ford, president and chief operating officer, Abbott, said: "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. With rapid testing on ID NOW, healthcare providers can perform molecular point-of-care testing outside the traditional four walls of a hospital in outbreak hotspots."
FDA gives green light
US FDA on March 27 authorized Abbott's point of care test for Covid-19. Innovative point of care testing is critical for patients and providers. A rapid and accurate diagnosis can make all the difference in treatment and outcomes.
Abbott tweeted that "we're launching a test that can detect COVID-19 in as little as five minutes, bringing rapid testing to the frontlines."
The arrival of the Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test comes a week after the company launched its Abbott m2000 RealTime SARS-CoV-2 EUA test, which runs on the m2000 RealTime System located in hospitals and reference labs around the world. Between the two platforms, Abbott expects to produce about five million tests per month.
Portable testing solution
The ID NOW platform is small, lightweight (6.6 pounds) and portable (the size of a small toaster), and uses molecular technology, which is valued by clinicians and the scientific community for its high degree of accuracy. ID NOW is already the most widely available molecular point-of-care testing platform in the US today, according to a release from Abbott.
Abbott will make ID NOW COVID-19 tests available next week to healthcare providers in urgent care settings in the US, where the majority of ID NOW instruments are in use today. The company is working with the Administration to deploy tests to areas where they can have the greatest impact.
