Prognosis
U.S. Buys Almost All Abbott’s $5 Rapid Tests Made This Year
- Company received FDA approval for test called a game changer
- Government to pay Abbott $750 million for 150 million tests
This article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. government is buying almost all of the $5 Covid tests Abbott Laboratories plans to produce this year, purchasing 150 million of the tests that were cleared yesterday and can be run in just 15 minutes.
Under the agreement, the government will pay $750 million for 150 million tests, according to people familiar with the deal. The company was granted an emergency authorization on Wednesday, and public health officials quickly agreed the new test -- which works without relying on laboratory equipment -- could help ease delays that have crimped much of the nation’s testing capacity.