April 12, 2024- QuidelOrtho Corporation has added the ARK™ Fentanyl II Assay to its U.S. Vitros® XT 7600 and 5600 Integrated Systems as well as its Vitros® 4600 Chemistry System menu of assays as a MicroTip® Partnership Assay (“MPA”). This Fentanyl assay will help hospital and emergency room customers respond to the critical demand for enhanced opioid testing, allowing on-site fentanyl testing in less than 10 minutes to aid in immediate clinical decisions.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), the number of fatalities resulting from fentanyl overdoses has tripled from 2016 to 2021, with an ongoing upward trend. The CDC highlights California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio as states with the highest mortality rates attributed to fentanyl. Consequently, several states have responded by implementing regulations requiring fentanyl testing to be included as a required component of drugs-of-abuse test panels.