ProPhase Labs (NSDQ:PRPH) announced today that it is introducing a new saliva-based test for COVID-19, Influenza A, B and more. Garden City, N.Y.-based ProPhase Labs said in a news release that it filed for FDA emergency use authorization for its two new testing methodologies, which integrate the Spectrum Solutions saliva self-collection system with a new […]
Genomics/Molecular Diagnostics
Becton Dickinson beats The Street, raises 2021 guidance
Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) shares dipped slightly despite first-quarter results that came in well above the consensus forecast. The Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based company posted profits of $981 million, or $3.35 per share, on sales of $5.3 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020, tripling its bottom-line on sales growth of 25.8%. Adjusted to exclude one-time […]
COVID-19 spit test creator Andrew Brooks is dead
Rutgers University research professor Andrew Brooks, who helped create the first saliva-based COVID-19 test, has died unexpectedly. Brooks, 51, led the creation of the spit test for the coronavirus that received FDA emergency use authorization in April. In tandem with Spectrum Solutions and Accurate Diagnostics Labs, Rutgers University’s RUCDR developed the saliva collection methods as an alternative to […]
Biden administration orders home COVID-19 tests
The U.S. Defense Dept. announced today that it awarded Ellume $231.8 to onshore production capacity of its Ellume COVID-19 home test. In coordination with the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), the DoD contract is an industrial base expansion to allow Ellume to increase the production capacity of its home test by 640,000 […]
Roche obtains CE Mark for rapid COVID-19 test with easier nose collection
Roche (SWX: RO, ROG) announced today that it received CE Mark approval for its new SARS-CoV-2 nasal rapid antigen test. Basel, Switzerland-based Roche’s nasal test collects the sample from the front area of the nose instead of the nasopharynx, which is the method used with its existing SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test. The new method results in a simplified […]
COVID-19 assays sales power Hologic to Street-beating Q1
Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) shares ticked up after hours today on first-quarter results that topped the consensus forecast. The Marlborough, Mass.-based company posted profits of $653.4 million, or $2.50 per share, on sales of $1.6 billion for the three months ended Dec. 26, 2020, for a 69.4% bottom-line gain on sales growth of 89.3%. Adjusted to exclude one-time […]
COVID-19 test sales boost Abbott in Street-beating Q4
Abbott (NYSE:ABT) shares ticked up this morning on fourth-quarter results that bested the consensus forecast. The Abbott Park, Ill.-based company posted profits of $2.2 billion, or $1.20 per share, on sales of $10.7 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020, for a more than doubled bottom line on sales growth of 28.7%. Adjusted to […]
Abbott Panbio rapid antigen test wins CE mark for asymptomatic COVID-19 screening
Abbott (NYSE:ABT) announced today that it received CE Mark for two new uses of its Panbio COVID-19 Ag rapid diagnostic. Panbio COVID-19 Ag has received an updated label with clinical data on asymptomatic individuals to enable mass testing of people who do not currently present symptoms of the disease, according to a news release. The other […]
These medtech stocks performed the best in 2020
While 2020 did not go as planned for anyone, with the twists and turns came opportunities for medtech companies to power forward. Innovations came both as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and perhaps in spite of the challenges brought on by the virus, highlighted by the increased efforts to produce vaccines and testing while […]
FDA grants EUA for RapCov rapid COVID-19 antibody test
Advaite announced today that it received FDA emergency use authorization for its RapCov point-of-care COVID-19 antibody test. Malvern, Penn.-based Advaite’s rapid response IgG antibody test uses fingerstick whole blood in point-of-care settings and is touted as capable of providing results in 15 minutes, according to a news release. All RapCov rapid COVID-19 test kits are […]
How Abbott stayed two steps ahead of COVID-19
Developing a fast COVID-19 that resembled a pregnancy test and building two factories to boost production — those were but two of the quick-thinking actions that Abbott (NYSE:ABT) officials took in the early months of a deadly coronavirus pandemic. Abbott began tracking the virus in China at the end of 2019 and into early 2020. By […]