Second Virus Wave Fears Create Growing Demand for Testing, Treatments and Vaccine Candidates - Seite 2

What's more, LexaGene (LXG.V) (LXXGF.QB) MiQLab technology can be configured to process large volume samples, for extreme sensitivity, which is critical as COVID-19 cases rise.

But, what could really set LexaGene's COVID-19 tests apart from the rest is the price. According to the press release, the company expects that volume manufacturing will keep the costs for its consumables substantially lower than competing technologies, allowing LexaGene to maintain healthy profit margins even when selling to cost-sensitive markets.

Meanwhile, Swiss multinational healthcare company Roche Holdings (OTCQX:RHHBY) is ramping up the production of its antibody tests to meet ever-growing demand but is having a hard time keeping up. On March 13, 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the company's cobas SARS-CoV-2 test and the product became widely available in the US and around the world.

Medical technology company Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) has also developed COVID-19 tests for the growing market and has received EUA from the FDA for two of its products: its Panther Fusion SARS-CoV-2 test and its Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay.

Coronavirus Vaccines and Treatments Continue Moving Through Development

Although the world may still be months or potentially years away from a plausible COVID-19 vaccine, the FDA has created a treatment acceleration program to help speed up the process and drugmakers have continued to progress.

Research-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) is at the forefront of the coronavirus-treatment race after clinical trials of its investigational treatment Remdesivir revealed the drug's ability to accelerate the recovery of advanced COVID-19. Remdesivir, which is administered through infusions, is the only drug that has been granted EUA from the FDA for the treatment of coronavirus infections.

On June 29, Gilead Sciences Inc  announced a $2,340 price tag for the five-day treatment for people covered by government health programs in the US and other developed countries and $3,120 for those covered by private insurance.

At the forefront of the COVID-19 vaccine initiative is clinical-stage biotechnology company Vaxart, Inc. (NASDAQ:VXRT). The company, which is developing an oral COVID-19 vaccine, has been selected to participate in a non-human primate (NHP) challenge study that is being organized and funded by Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's vaccine-acceleration program aimed to provide substantial quantities of a safe, effective vaccine for Americans by January 2021.