FDA approves rapid coronavirus test with results in 45 minutes. Test to be conducted by California-based diagnostic testing company Cepheid

Cepheid, a Sunnyvale, California-based diagnostic testing company, announced on Saturday that it has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2, a rapid molecular diagnostic test for qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.

The test has been designed to operate on any of Cepheid’s more than 23,000 automated GeneXpert® Systems worldwide, with a detection time of approximately 45 minutes, the company said in a press release.

“During this time of increased demand for hospital services, Clinicians urgently need an on-demand diagnostic test for real-time management of patients being evaluated for admission to health-care facilities. An accurate test delivered close to the patient can be transformative — and help alleviate the pressure that the emergence of the 2019-nCoV outbreak has put on healthcare facilities that need to properly allocate their respiratory isolation resources,” said Dr. David Persing, MD, Ph.D., Chief Medical and Technology Officer at Cepheid. “By leveraging the design principles of our current Xpert Xpress Flu/RSV cartridge technology, in which multiple regions of the viral genome are targeted to provide rapid detection of current and potential future variants of SARS-CoV-2, we have developed a test that provides reference lab-quality results in multiple settings where actionable treatment information is needed quickly.”

“Cepheid currently has nearly 5,000 GeneXpert® Systems in the US capable of point-of-care testing and for use in hospitals,” said Cepheid President Warren Kocmond. “Our automated systems do not require users to have specialty training to perform testing — they are capable of running 24/7, with many systems already doing so today.”

The test will begin shipping next week. You can learn more about Cepheid’s Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test at: www.cepheid.com/coronavirus.

Founded in 1996 by Allen Northrup, Dennis H. Giesing, and Steve Young, Cepheid is a molecular diagnostics company that is an operating company within Danaher Corporation’s Diagnostics platform. By automating highly complex and time-consuming manual procedures, the company’s solutions deliver a better way for institutions of any size to perform sophisticated genetic testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases. Through its strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those applications where accurate, rapid, and actionable test results are needed most, such as managing infectious diseases and cancer