The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded much of the FDA, and commissioner Stephen Hahn said on a June 1 conference call that “there have been hiccups along the way” as the enormity of the threat came into view. The agency’s use of emergency use authorizations (EUAs) has drawn criticism, but Hahn defended those EUAs and other regulatory flexibilities even has he declared that the FDA is not “walking away from” randomized, controlled clinical trials as the gold standard for premarket review.

The U.S. FDA granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Quest Diagnostics Inc.’s self-collection kit for COVID-19. The kit allows individuals to collect their own specimens at home or in a health care setting.

New York-based at-home testing startup Letsgetchecked said Friday that the U.S. FDA has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for its COVID-19 Sure-track Test for signs of active SARS-CoV-2 infection. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) nasal swab test is for use by at-risk individuals in the home and delivers results within 24 hours of a sample being received by the company’s CLIA-certified laboratory.

LONDON – The World Health Organization (WHO) is stepping up its effort to try and ensure equitable access to any approved COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, putting in place a system for sharing all intellectual property, information and clinical trials data needed to enable generic manufacturing.