Quidel Corporation CEO Douglas Bryant Named Executive of the Year in MedTech Dive Awards For 2020

Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL) (“Quidel”), a provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, cellular-based virology assays and molecular diagnostic systems, announced today that Quidel’s President and CEO Douglas Bryant was named Executive of the Year in the MedTech Dive Awards for 2020. MedTech Dive, a business publication that provides in-depth reporting on developments in medical technology, focused its annual awards for 2020 on recognizing companies and people that showed leadership in a time of crisis.

MedTech Dive’s editors and journalists selected Mr. Bryant as the medical technology industry’s Executive of the Year in part because his pre-COVID strategy of developing rapid immunoassay technologies and building out point-of-care antigen testing for infectious diseases and conditions such as flu, RSV and strep positioned the company for success when the pandemic hit. MedTech Dive credited Mr. Bryant for redirecting Quidel to focus on the COVID-19 virus and dramatically increasing production of its diagnostic tests.

“While I am honored by this recognition, I accept it on behalf of the entire Quidel Team, which has truly stepped up to the challenge of diagnosing and defeating the COVID-19 virus,” Mr. Bryant said. “I am extremely proud to be part of an outstanding organization that is, quite literally, advancing the frontline response to this pandemic with continuous innovation and disciplined execution.”

“Our mission at Quidel is to democratize access to accurate, affordable and, where necessary, frequent testing all across America,” Mr. Bryant emphasized. “We see it as a moral obligation. It drives us.”

Quidel was the first company to receive Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA for a rapid antigen test that delivers results in 15 minutes. Quidel's Sofia® SARS Antigen FIA set the bar for antigen test performance at 96.7% PPA vs. PCR and has proven to be critical to both COVID-19 detection and disease surveillance when combined with Quidel’s proprietary Virena® data management system, which provides aggregated, de-identified testing data to the CDC and other public health authorities in near real-time.

Quidel’s COVID-19 leadership extended from R&D to manufacturing as the company doubled production of its rapid antigen test to over two million tests a week in the third quarter. The company plans to triple that production to six million tests per week in mid-2021 to address the strong demand for testing, treatment and tracing that will continue alongside the introduction of vaccines.

MedTech Dive noted, “The San Diego-based diagnostics company has delivered record profit and revenue over two successive quarters since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.”

Quidel Achievements in 2020

Quidel developed and received FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its Lyra® molecular PCR test for COVID-19 on March 17. On May 8, Quidel became the first company to receive an EUA from the FDA for a rapid antigen test that delivers results in 15 minutes.

Quidel's Sofia® SARS Antigen FIA set the bar for antigen test performance at 96.7%. The Sofia® system also comes connected to Virena®, Quidel’s data management system, which provides aggregated, de-identified testing data to U.S. public health authorities in near real-time.

In September, Quidel entered into arrangements with the Pac-12 and Big Ten Conferences that provided daily rapid antigen testing, which allowed student-athletes to safely return to play and included research at participating universities that constitutes the largest asymptomatic coronavirus cohort study ever done.

Quidel doubled Sofia® manufacturing capacity to one million tests a week in June. By October, Quidel again doubled its U.S. production capacity for COVID-19 rapid testing to over two million tests per week.

On October 2, Quidel introduced the first-ever rapid antigen “ABC Test” in the U.S. that simultaneously detects and distinguishes between Influenza A, Influenza B and COVID-19 from a single nasal swab sample in 15 minutes.

Quidel currently has a robust pipeline of molecular and antigen tests awaiting EUAs from the FDA or expected to be submitted soon. Applications for these new tests range from hospitals and physician offices to schools and, ultimately, at-home use.

About Quidel Corporation

Quidel Corporation (Nasdaq: QDEL) is a leading manufacturer of diagnostic solutions at the point of care delivering a continuum of rapid testing technologies that further improve the quality of health care throughout the globe. An innovator for over 40 years in the medical device industry, Quidel pioneered the first FDA-cleared point-of-care test for influenza in 1999 and was the first to market a rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen test in the U.S. Under trusted brand names Sofia®, Solana®, Lyra®, Triage® and QuickVue®, Quidel’s comprehensive product portfolio includes tests for a wide range of infectious diseases, cardiac and autoimmune biomarkers, as well as a host of products to detect COVID-19. With products made in America, Quidel’s mission is to provide patients with immediate and frequent access to highly accurate, affordable testing for the good of our families, our communities and the world. For more information about Quidel, visit quidel.com.

View our story told by our people at www.quidel.com/ourstory

About MedTech Dive

MedTech Dive provides in-depth journalism and insight into the most impactful news and trends shaping medical technology. The newsletters and website cover topics such as medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, regulation/compliance, R&D, M&A and more. MedTech Dive is part of Industry Dive, a leading business journalism company.

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