What happened
After the Food and Drug Administration approved collaboration partner Clinical Reference Laboratory's saliva test for COVID-19, Co-Diagnostics (CODX -3.75%) shares soared 28.3% on Monday.
So what
One of the biggest private lab companies in the United States, Clinical Reference Laboratory (CRL) developed its saliva COVID-19 test using Co-Diagnostics CoPrimer technology to boost sensitivity and reduce false positives by eliminating amplification errors common in molecular testing.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
The FDA's emergency-use approval for CRL's test using CoPrimer techology isn't the first for Co-Diagnostics, though. The healthcare company secured FDA emergency-use authorization for its Logix Smart Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) test in April, and on May 14, it reported unaudited COVID-19-related revenue of $18 million year to date.
Now what
The rapid spread of Covid-19 is contributing to a backlog of testing demand that's causing delays in test results, so there's a significant need for new testing capacity.
The potential tailwind to Co-Diagnostics revenue from COVID-19-related testing is significant since the company's total revenue was just $1.5 million in the first quarter. Given the sales numbers reported in May and increasing testing in the United States throughout the past quarter, it appears a big quarter-over-quarter increase in revenue is on tap when management reports second-quarter results on August 13.
