A Brea-based company announced Friday it developed a new COVID-19 test that is affordable and can help ramp up widespread testing.
Beckman Coulter is seeking emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the antigen test would cost $4, making it affordable for mass testing in schools, businesses and hospitals.
The company said it can provide results within 30 minutes. Beckman Coulter can deliver 25 million tests monthly.
“While vaccines are coming, it will take time before everyone is able to receive their shot,” said Dr. Shamiram R. Feinglass, chief medical officer for Beckman Coulter.
“Until then, the only way to save lives is to mask, socially distance, test, trace and isolate. To test the masses and test them frequently, we need an affordable, reliable and scalable solution. Beckman Coulter is making this happen with a high-quality $4 COVID-19 test, so institutions and communities can implement, frequent mass COVID-19 testing that is easy to scale.”
Andrew Noymer, a UC Irvine associate professor of population health and disease prevention, said the $4 price is much lower than the usual $32, “so it will make it easier for adoption everywhere… every little urgent care storefront can have one of these and can use as many as they want.”
Noymer said, “It’s a win, but not a game changer.”