Abbott Shipping Thousands Of Coronavirus Test Kits

TEMECULA, CA — One of Temecula's largest employers has been given a green light by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ship thousands of its coronavirus test kits.

Abbott announced last week that it is "immediately shipping" 150,000 Abbott RealTime SARS-CoV-2 tests to its existing U.S. customers.

The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the tests, and Abbott announced it will continue ramping up production "to the highest levels possible, with the goal of providing up to 1 million tests per week."

A global company headquartered in Illinois, Abbot said it is manufacturing the tests in the U.S. It is not immediately clear what role, if any, Temecula-based employees are playing in the rollout. A request for additional comment from the company was not immediately returned.

Test results are obtained on the company's m2000 RealTime System. Across the U.S., more than 175 of these systems are used in hospital and reference laboratories, so tests don't have to be sent to an off-site lab. The systems have the ability to run high volumes of up to 470 tests in 24 hours, according to the company.

Abbott is working with health systems and government authorities to deploy additional m2000 systems where they are needed, according to the company.

"A global challenge like coronavirus requires the commitment and cooperation of everyone who has the ability to help address it," said Miles D. White, Abbott chairman and chief executive officer. "I'm proud of the Abbott team and what they've accomplished in such a short period of time, and I want to thank the Administration and the FDA for their partnership in making this happen."

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