Following the launch of Abbott Laboratories’ rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) test;

Dara Lo, Medical Device Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“Abbott Laboratories’ rapid, point-of care (POC) COVID-19 test caused company shares to soar. This is by far the fastest COVID-19 test currently on the market with no competitors within reach. The shift towards rapid diagnostics will allow use in doctor’s offices, hospitals and urgent care clinics, rather than requiring the testing device to be shipped off to a lab. This will support a quicker identification of cases and more accurate case reporting.

“Abbott is poised to grab a significant portion of the COVID-19 tests market share in the US by initially supplying 50,000 tests a day, which run on a device called the ID NOW – of which there are 18,000 across the US. The Abbott test is the second rapid POC test to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), following a Danaher COVID-19 test that received EUA last week that can return results in 45 minutes. By comparison, there are only 5,000 devices across the US that can run the Danaher COVID-19 test.

“Abbott’s reach into the in vitro diagnostics market should also ensure that it can get machines rapidly installed in hospital emergency departments.”