Abbott Laboratories won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its molecular test for the Coronavirus strain COVID-19, which the company says can deliver “positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes.” The FDA’s “emergency use authorization” awarded to Abbott’s ID NOW COVID-19 test is the latest in a growing number of agency approvals for more rapid molecular “point-of-care” diagnostic tests that can be used in temporary screening locations, doctor’s office labs and nursing homes to detect the Coronavirus strain COVID-19 within a half hour.
