BD (BDX) & BioGX Submit EUA To Speed Up Coronavirus Screening

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) , also known as BD, along with BioGX Inc recently announced the submission of emergency use authorization (EUA) requests to the FDA for diagnostic tests. Notably, the tests, if authorized, would increase the potential capacity for COVID-19 (coronavirus) screening by 1,000 per day.

For investors’ notice, BioGX develops molecular products and provides customized manufacturing services.

More on the Development

The aforesaid tests will be run on the coveted BD MAX molecular diagnostic platform, which is already in use in nearly every state across the United States. The fully-automated platform minimizes chances of human error, thereby increasing the speed of testing. Thus, it would enable rapid screenings of COVID-19 patients.

Further, on Mar 11, the company along with CerTest Biotec announced the receipt of CE mark for the VIASURE SARS-CoV-2 real time test adapted for the BD MAX System. The test is now available in all clinical laboratories.

These developments are expected to ramp up BD MAX sales, thereby instilling investors’ optimism in the company. In fact, BD has seen more than 20% growth in BD MAX revenues of late.

Coronavirus Keeps MedTech Players on Toes

The COVID-19 pandemic has been wreaking havoc over the past month. Notably, the United States has witnessed 4,743 cases so far, while the death toll is 93.

Given the backdrop, U.S. MedTech players are trying every possible way to combat the pandemic.

For instance, Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) recently announced that the FDA has issued EUA for its diagnostic test that can be used immediately by laboratories across the United States for detecting COVID-19.

Moreover, QIAGEN (NYSE:QGEN) has announced that it will develop a QIAstat-Dx test kit to differentiate the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus from 21 other serious respiratory infections and will receive advanced development support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' office. The company is also in the process of shipping QIAstat-Dx testing kits to public health institutions in other regions, including Europe, South-East Asia and the Middle East.

Price Performance

Over the past year, the Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company has lost 8.8% compared with the industry’s 17.7% decline.

A Key Pick

A better-ranked company in the broader medical sector is Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) .

Stryker’s long-term earnings growth is expected at 10.1%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>