A coronavirus test that attracted some criticism for its accuracy is apparently on the money almost all of the time. On Wednesday, Abbott Laboratories (ABT 6.50%) announced that interim clinical data indicates that its ID NOW COVID-19 test correctly identified positive cases in 95% of instances.
Additionally, ID NOW was able to flag people lacking antibodies to the coronavirus nearly 98% of the time within one week of them showing symptoms. The results are culled from a study involving 1,003 participants.
ID NOW received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration in March. Subsequently, the test attracted some negative attention when a research study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic found that it detected the coronavirus in 85% of cases -- a lower rate than numerous other diagnostic products.
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"The facts we're seeing from one of the largest clinical studies of any COVID-19 test, conducted at some of the nation's leading academic centers, show that ID NOW delivers effective, consistent and reliable performance," according to John Hackett, vice president of the Applied Research and Technology Division for Abbott's diagnostics unit.
Since being granted the EUA, Abbott says it has shipped over 12 million ID NOW tests in the U.S. They have been delivered to all 50 states.
Abbott is a leader in the coronavirus/COVID-19 diagnostics segment. Since rolling out ID NOW, it has brought to market the low-cost BinaxNOW antigen test, another point-of-care test that delivers results quickly, and on Tuesday, it signed a deal to supply up to around 21 million Panbio COVID-19 tests to the government of Canada.
On Wednesday, Abbott's shares traded up by 1.4%, a rate just under the 1.7% gain of the S&P 500 index.
