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QuidelOrtho, Access Bio, iHealth, Orasure Nab DoD Contract for COVID-19 Antigen Tests

NEW YORK — The US Department of Defense recently awarded Quidel, Access Bio, iHealth Labs, and Orasure Technologies a contract worth up to $803 million to provide over-the-counter rapid COVID-19 antigen tests to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The one-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract was awarded by the DoD's Defense Logistics Agency in late November. The companies will share proceeds of the contract, according to the DoD.

In 2020, San Diego-based Quidel, now QuidelOrtho, received Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA SARS-CoV-2 antigen test. Somerset, New Jersey-based Access Bio received EUA from the FDA for its CareStart COVID-19 Antigen test later that year.

Both Sunnyvale, California-based iHealth and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based Orasure received EUAs from the FDA for their own COVID-19 antigen tests in 2021.