Quidel Corp. (NASDAQ:QDEL) has filed for FDA marketingapproval for its rapid immunoassay test for fecal occult blood.

The San Diego company developed the two-minute test fordoctors and laboratories to detect hidden blood in stoolsamples, a screening step for several gastrointestinal disorders,including colorectal cancer.

The most widely used tests rely on guaiac-based chemistrythat requires strict dietary limitations two days prior to thetest for accuracy. The Quidel QuickVue test is specific forhuman hemoglobin and should circuvent dietary restrictionand associated compliance problems that can lead to a largenumber of repeat tests.

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