By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Quidel stock (NASDAQ:QDEL) traded 2% higher in Wednesday’s premarket after the company said its testing kits are able to detect omicron, the coronavirus variant that’s raging across the world, resulting in record levels of infection.
Quidel said additional testing, using live virus, has proven that its QuickVue and Sofia SARS antigen tests are able to detect the live Omicron variant with similar efficacy as with other variants.
The company performed the additional tests after the FDA backed the company’s QuickVue antigen tests that used heat-inactivated omicron samples.
Quidel said it continues to expand the weekly production of Covid-19 antigen tests to reach more people.
Fresh cases in U.S. have reached a record as the third year of the pandemic looms. Cases in the country topped 267,000 Tuesday with the consolation being that hospitalization remain below early 2021 peak levels. In most countries now, omicron is dominating delta and hopes are that it will box out the deadlier mutant through the immunity offered.
Quidel stock has been under pressure in last four sessions because of its proposed purchase of Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (NASDAQ:OCDX), with it sparking concern of equity dilution and higher debt.