Shares of Luminex Rise on FDA Approval
Thursday January 3, 7:53 pm ET
Luminex Shares Hit Year High As FDA Clears Test for Detecting 12 Strains of Respiratory Virus
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Shares of Luminex Corp., a biological testing company, jumped to a new annual high Thursday after federal regulators approved the company's test to detect 12 different strains of respiratory virus.
The company's stock rose 79 cents, or 4.9 percent, Thursday to $17.02. Earlier in the day, the stock hit a 52-week high of $17.87.
The Toronto-based diagnostic maker's xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel is the first test to use genetic material to detect multiple viruses at the same time.
Physicians use the test on a small genetic sample taken from the back of a patients' throat. During the testing process, microscopic beads bind to any material infected with the virus. These beads are then sorted so specific infections can be identified.
FDA said the test is the first to distinguish between influenza A subtypes H1 and H3. Influenza A is the most serious form of the virus and has caused major epidemics around the world.
