31 July 2020 - - US-based diagnostics company Quidel Corp. (NASDAQ: QDEL) has entered into a preliminary letter contract with the National Institutes of Health through its newly launched Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics - Advanced Technology Platforms (RADx-ATP) initiative to support the expansion of its manufacturing capacity in San Diego for its diagnostic assays that test for SARS-CoV-2 Antigen using its Sofia Fluorescence Immunoassay platform, the company said.

Quidel and the NIH endeavor to enter into a definitive agreement to support the initiative by mid-September.

The NIH RADx-ATP investment, subject to entering into the definitive agreement with key deliverables and identified milestones, would directly support the upgrade and addition of new manufacturing lines, thereby expanding capacity for test cassettes from approximately 84m cassettes per year to in excess of 220 m cassettes per year.

This investment would also support the outfitting of a larger distribution center that would be needed for the greatly expanded yield of rapid diagnostic assays, including not only those for COVID-19 diagnosis, but also for influenza, RSV, and other infectious diseases.

The contract period would be for one year beginning on July 30, 2020.