April 1, 2020—Abbott announced that the FDA has issued emergency use authorization for its molecular point-of-care test for the detection of novel coronavirus. The test delivers positive results in as few as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes and runs on the company’s ID Now platform.
ID Now is a rapid, instrument-based, isothermal system for the qualitative detection of infectious diseases. It weighs 6.6 pounds and is portable—the size of a small toaster, the company says.
Abbott will be making ID Now COVID-19 tests available next week to health care providers in urgent care settings in the United States.