Abbott wins U.S. approval for rapid COVID-19 test

Aug 26 (Reuters) – Abbott Laboratories said on Wednesday it won U.S. marketing approval for a COVID-19 portable test that can deliver results within 15 minutes.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the approval under its emergency use authorization program. (https://reut.rs/2QsSyOC)

The portable test, BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card, is for use by healthcare professionals at hospitals and labs, and Abbott plans to sell the tests for $5 each.

The United States now has more cases of the coronavirus than any other country, and hospitals and labs have struggled to meet the demand to test thousands of people.

Abbott expects to ship tens of millions of tests in September, ramping to 50 million tests a month from the beginning of October.

Since March, the company has got U.S. authorizations for five coronavirus tests, including one that can deliver results within minutes and is used at the White House. (Reporting By Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)