Quidel Announces FDA Clearance of Its RapidVue® hCG Pregnancy Lateral Flow Diagnostic Test

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL), a leading provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the sale of Quidel’s RapidVue® hCG test, a lateral flow pregnancy immunoassay for the qualitative detection of human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG).

“RapidVue hCG is Quidel’s fourth product launch in the United States this year and is further confirmation of our success at reinvigorating our new product pipeline.”

“Our customers have expressed a preference for testing flexibility and our new RapidVue hCG product provides healthcare professionals with an additional format for pregnancy testing,” said Douglas Bryant, president and chief executive officer of Quidel Corporation. “RapidVue hCG is Quidel’s fourth product launch in the United States this year and is further confirmation of our success at reinvigorating our new product pipeline.”

The 3-minute RapidVue hCG test is CLIA-waived for use with urine samples. Due to the assay’s dipstick format, RapidVue hCG requires no specimen manipulation in order to perform the test.

About Quidel Corporation

Quidel Corporation serves to enhance the health and well being of people around the globe through the development of diagnostic solutions that can lead to improved patient outcomes and provide economic benefits to the healthcare system. Marketed under the leading brand names QuickVue®, D³® Direct Detection and Thyretain™, Quidel's products aid in the detection and diagnosis of many critical diseases and conditions, including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, Strep A, herpes, pregnancy, thyroid disease and fecal occult blood. Quidel's research and development engine is also developing a continuum of diagnostic solutions from advanced lateral-flow and direct fluorescent antibody to molecular diagnostic tests to further improve the quality of healthcare in physicians' offices and hospital and reference laboratories. For more information about Quidel's comprehensive product portfolio, visit www.quidel.com and Diagnostic Hybrids at www.dhiusa.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve material risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many possible events or factors could affect our future financial results and performance, such that our actual results and performance may differ materially from those that may be described or implied in the forward-looking statements. As such, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Differences in actual results and performance may arise as a result of a number of factors including, without limitation, seasonality, the timing of onset, length and severity of cold and flu seasons, the level of success in executing our strategic initiatives, uncertainty surrounding the detection of novel influenza viruses involving human specimens, adverse changes in the competitive and economic conditions in domestic and international markets, actions of our major distributors, technological changes and uncertainty with research and technology development, including any future molecular-based technology, successful integration of Diagnostic Hybrids Inc., the reimbursement system currently in place and future changes to that system, manufacturing and production delays or difficulties, adverse actions or delays in product reviews by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, intellectual property, product liability, environmental or other litigation, potential required patent license fee payments not currently reflected in our costs, potential inadequacy of booked reserves and possible impairment of goodwill, and lower-than-anticipated sales or market penetration of our new products. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "might," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. The risks described under "Risk Factors" in reports and registration statements that we file with the SEC from time to time should be carefully considered. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the results of any revision or update of the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.