Abbott gets FDA approval for its Coronavirus test that gives positive diagnosis in 5 minutes

With
Coronavirus rising exponentially across borders, the global healthcare system continues
to fixate on the importance of timely diagnosis that makes it easier to isolate
the patient and prevent hundreds of other people in contact from getting the
infection.

In its announcement on Friday, Abbott (NYSE:ABT) said to have achieved the next milestone in timely diagnosis of the Coronavirus. The American medical devices and healthcare company said that its new test that promises to deliver accurate Coronavirus results within five minutes got the approval on Friday. Abbott plans on distributing the test among the healthcare providers in the upcoming week.

Abbott
Aims At Distributing 50,000 Tests Per Day

Abbott’s
point-of-care diagnostic test for Coronavirus received the emergency use
authorization from the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday. The
test takes thirteen minutes to announce negative results while positives are
declared within five minutes.

Abbott
also highlighted that it is now the company’s priority to increase production and
distribute at least 50,000 tests on a daily basis. CEO Robert Ford of Abbott
commented on Friday:

“The
COVID-19 pandemic will be fought on multiple fronts, and a portable molecule
test that offers results in minutes adds to the broad range of diagnostic
solutions needed to combat this virus.”

Abbott’s
stated also reiterated that the recently approved test makes Abbott’s second to
be used for Coronavirus. The health company is targeting mixed production of
around 5 million tests a month.

According
to Abbott, the shortage of personal protective equipment for the healthcare
providers, however, may pose a challenge in utilization of the recently
approved test. In patients that present respiratory symptoms, clinicians may
raise an issue of personal safety while administering this test without the
personal protective equipment.

U.S
Surpasses Italy And China In Total Confirmed Cases

The
United States surpassed Italy and China in total confirmed cases on Friday posting
more than 100,000 patients. The death toll in the U.S is currently at 1,717
in the U.S, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Abbott
was reported trading 2.5% up in extended trading on Friday following the
announcement. At £61.19 per share, however, the company is still trading around
12% down in the stock market in 2020 so far.

Its
performance in 2019, on the contrary, was reported fairly upbeat with an annual
gain of a little under 25%. The £105.56 billion company has a price to earnings
ratio of 36.88.