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Abbott's (ABT) BinaxNOW Test Gets FDA's EUA for Self Use

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Abbott’s (ABT - Free Report) BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Self Test recently got FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) clearance for over-the-counter, non-prescription and asymptomatic use. With this latest regulatory go ahead, individuals with or without symptoms can have over-the-counter access to this rapid antigen self test.

In August 2020, this test was first introduced for professional lab use. The latest self test is identical with the original one.

More Words on BinaxNOW

This test can be used even on two-year old children with the help of sample collection by an adult. The self test can otherwise be done for all people aged 15 years or more.  Abbott expects this rapid antigen test to reach nearly everyone in the United States.

Given the emergence of new strains of coronavirus along with surging cases of new infections, this launch looks well timed. According to the company, the self-test BinaxNOW together with vaccines will help Americans get back to their regular daily work with greater confidence.

BinaxNOW’s Previous Strides

On Aug 20, Abbott’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card received the FDA’s EUA. This credit card sized pocket-friendly test uses Abbott’s lateral flow technology and provides results in as less as 15 minutes. Within the given settings, this test can be performed even by school nurses. Since its launch, the company has scaled up its production at its new U.S. manufacturing facilities to produce 50 million tests per month.

In August, under a combined initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of and Defense (DOD), the government decided to buy 150 million of Abbott’s $5 rapid antigen test for COVID-19.

On Jan 21, Abbott announced the completion of the supply of these 150 million rapid antigen test. The company also promised tocontinue supplying HHS with a total of 30 million tests till March 2021.

Per HHS, the supply of BinaxNow kits has significantly boosted the testing capacity of the nation. As planned, these kits were distributed through HHS to different states, territories and targeted entities like K-12 schools, nursing homes, historically black colleges and universities and under-served communities.

Price Performance

Over the past year, the stock has gained 43.8% compared with 26.1% growth of the industry.

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Abbott currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A few better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Envista Holdings Corporation (NVST - Free Report) , InMode Ltd. (INMD - Free Report) and Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Envista has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 24.4%.

InMode has a projected long-term earnings growth rate of 12.4%.

Owens & Minor has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 48.9%.

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