BD rolls out test to detect coronavirus antibodies

Dive Brief: BD on Tuesday announced it's making available a rapid, point-of-care blood test that identifies antibodies to confirm exposure to COVID-19. BD said the serology test can detect current or past exposure to the virus. The product, developed and manufactured by Morrisville, North Carolina​-based biotech BioMedomics​, will be distributed by Henry Schein​ to U.S. healthcare providers. BD expects to begin shipping the tests in April. Unlike molecular tests that detect SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acids or antigen-based tests, the serological assay identifies antibodies in the blood that the body produces in response to coronavirus infection. The antibodies develop in the middle to late stages of infection but may remain present after exposure, which could help identify people who were exposed to the virus but are asymptomatic Dive Insight: Serological diagnostics can be used to identify people who have recovered from the disease and have immunity to the infection. Theoretically, those people could return to work and serve in high-risk roles on the frontlines of healthcare and other community efforts to fight the pandemic, giving way to the idea of "immunity passports" in countries like Germany. Policymakers in the U.S. have also elevated serological testing as a tool for "restarting" society as epidemic transmission is eventually brought under control.