FDA approves Abbott Labs' 5-minute coronavirus test

Abbott Laboratories, headquartered in Abbott Park, announced Friday that it developed a test that can detect positive COVID-19 results in as little as five minutes.

The test, which can deliver negative results in 13 minutes, will run on the company’s ID NOW platform, according to a news release.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for the fastest available molecular point-of-care test for detecting the novel coronavirus.

The ID NOW platform is small, lightweight and portable, according to Abbott.

“The COVID-19 pandemic will be fought on multiple fronts, and a portable molecular test that offers results in minutes adds to the broad range of diagnostic solutions needed to combat this virus,” Robert B. Ford, president and chief operating officer at Abbott, said in a statement. “With rapid testing on ID NOW, health care providers can perform molecular point-of-care testing outside the traditional four walls of a hospital in outbreak hot spots.”

Abbott will make ID NOW COVID-19 tests available next week to health care providers in urgent care settings in the U.S.

According to the company, the majority of ID NOW instruments already are in use in these locations. ID NOW is the most widely available molecular point-of-care testing platform in the U.S. today, according to Abbott’s website.

The company now is working with the FDA to deploy tests to areas where they can have the greatest effect, according to its website.