Roche expects to produce more than 100 million coronavirus antibody tests monthly by year-end

Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Sunday it expects it would be able to produce “significantly more” than 100 million of its new coronavirus antibody tests monthly by the end of 2020, doubling its current production.

Roche’s remarks came after the company received an emergency use authorisation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving its test, which can determine if people have ever been infected with the coronavirus and developed antibodies against it.

Named Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2, the test has a specificity greater than 99.8 percent and can help assess people’s immune response to the virus, Roche said in earlier statement.

Roche also said earlier that it had already started shipping the new antibody test to top laboratories worldwide and would increase production to “high double-digit millions per month.”