While the FDA’s reaction to the results of the Nov. 30 advisory hearing for the COVID-19 therapy molnupiravir is difficult to predict, demand for rapid antigen tests may jump considerably when this or any such product is approved. That increased demand could crunch supplies of these tests due to the convergence of any such approvals, the upcoming holiday season, and the 2021-22 flu season, a convergence that could hamper efforts to roll out these new therapies.

Celltrion Inc. recently received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for its Diatrust COVID-19 Ag home test. “With the FDA approval, we will now prioritize getting the test kits to the U.S. and into users’ hands as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for the Incheon, South Korea-based Celltrion told BioWorld. The test kits will be distributed through Celltrion’s U.S. arm, Celltrion USA Inc. Celltrion is currently in the final stage of negotiations with the U.S. government, as well as online and offline distributors.

Advocates have continued to press for more widespread use of rapid antigen tests in the home as a primary instrument for returning to economic normalcy, and the FDA has granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Acon Laboratories Inc., of San Diego, for the company’s Flowflex rapid antigen test for at-home use. According to the FDA, Acon said the COVID-19 test will be produced at a rate of 200 million a month by February 2022, a clip that should go a long way toward restoring vigor to a lagging U.S. economy.

PERTH, Australia – As Australia prepares to reopen the country after strict lockdown measures, the TGA is making a new regulation to allow companies to supply their COVID-19 rapid antigen self-tests for home use beginning Nov. 1. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel for Australians on a number of fronts,” said Health Minister Greg Hunt in a Sept. 28 press conference.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still swirling about, and rapid antigen tests are still playing a vital role in pushing back against the COVID-19 pandemic, and Australia’s TGA has responded with a guidance on when software used with rapid antigen tests qualifies as a regulated device. The TGA has classified such software as a class 3 device when used with a rapid antigen self-test, thus requiring a separate regulatory application before it can be eligible for entry in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG).

The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Becton, Dickinson & Co.’s (BD) Veritor At-Home COVID-19 test – a rapid COVID-19 digital antigen test. The test, which is designed for home use, uses a mobile app from Los Angeles-based Scanwell Health Inc. that provides instructions on how to collect and transfer the nasal swab sample to the test stick. The smartphone camera is then used to capture, analyze and interpret results within 15 minutes. BD said it will initially be rolled out to businesses, schools and governments looking to provide a self-testing option.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has waded into the controversial question of the respective roles of rapid antigen and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a question that roiled relations between the FDA and public health experts. According to NIH, three rapid antigen tests administered at three-day intervals offer the same level of sensitivity as PCR, a finding that will likely make itself felt in future communicable disease outbreaks.

The FDA issued a June 10 warning letter to Innova Medical Group Inc. in connection with the company’s rapid antigen tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, an action that accompanies a class I recall and a safety communication.

PERTH, Australia – After gaining European clearance for its Eugeni COVID-19 rapid antigen test, Anteotech Ltd. reported a A$12 million (US$9.3 million) capital raise to launch its first global product that will help screen travelers, making it easier and safer to open borders. The Brisbane, Australia-based company was largely unheard of before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but it has emerged as one of the few companies that has developed a low-cost, high sensitivity rapid COVID-19 test.

HONG KONG – Celltrion Inc. continues its quest to take its Diatrust COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test overseas, after receiving the FDA’s emergency use authorization (EUA). The Incheon, South Korea-based company also submitted results of clinical trials in which 450 people throughout the U.S. were tested between February and March 2021 to the regulator, with the trial results currently under review.