Six months to the day that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a public health emergency, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with its hideous red spikes, continues to taunt the world, hopping from host to host and haunting humans, many of whom wonder the same thing: What’s next?

Hologic Inc. beat expectations for the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, posting net earnings of $137.9 million, or 53 cents a share, up 46.9% from the same period a year ago. Worldwide revenue declined 3.5% to $822.9 million, due to the divestiture of Cynosure Holdings Inc., but grew 7.7% organically (8.1% in constant currency), as demand for COVID-19 tests offset a slide in other businesses.

The U.S. FDA has nudged the emergency use authorization (EUA) program forward once again, this time with a template for applications for tests that can be performed entirely at home, in the office and at schools. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in an accompanying statement that tests of this sort “will be a game-changer in our fight against COVID-19 and will be crucial as the nation looks toward reopening.”

Startup Scipher Medicine, of Waltham, Mass., is developing a blood test to predict which rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients will not respond to Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor therapies.

VANCOUVER – Sorrento Therapeutics Inc., which is working to build a comprehensive lineup of COVID-19 products, has in-licensed a self-contained test for SARS-CoV-2 that may produce accurate results in half an hour.

Liquid biopsy startup Thrive Earlier Detection Corp. has raised $257 million in a series B round led by Casdin Capital and Section 32. The funds will be used to finalize the design of its first product, Cancerseek, conduct a trial to support U.S. FDA approval and prepare for commercialization.