Knowledge is power. Especially when it comes to your health. That's why we created products to give people the information they need, when they need it most, to make the best decisions for their health — during a pandemic or not.

For their ability to empower people through knowledge, both our BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 test and the FreeStyle Libre 2, an integrated continuous glucose monitor (iCGM) were honored with a Gold Edison Award for Best New Product.

BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card

Rapid testing has been a critical tool to helping quickly identify people with COVID-19. That's why we created our BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card. Unlike other antigen tests, BinaxNOW requires no equipment and gives results in 15 minutes. As a point-of-care test, it can be delivered at massive scale, so more testing can be done in more places, more frequently and with fast results.

We also needed to be able to deliver those results in a verified and secure way.

Enter our NAVICA mobile app, which delivers and displays verified test results on a mobile device, confirming a person’s COVID status easily and providing greater confidence as we re-enter everyday activities like work, school, public transportation and the like.

Overall, the combined solutions of BinaxNOW Ag Card and the NAVICA app provide:

• Rapid results in fewer than 15 minutes
• Accessibility, through testing that requires no instrumentation
• Availability, as we produce 50 million tests per month

More access to fast testing means more access to everyday activities. Technology that provides power through knowledge and helps our communities get back to the lives we've missed so dearly.

FreeStyle Libre 2 iCGM

More than 463 million people live with diabetes around the world. Managing the condition is an expensive, lifelong challenge.

Before the development of CGMs, people with diabetes relied on finger sticks throughout the day to measure their blood glucose levels. That’s painful, not discreet and poses the risk of missing dangerous high or low glucose values. The FreeStyle Libre 2 system has minute-by-minute glucose readings to catch highs or lows five minutes earlier compared to other systems^1,2 — all without the need for finger sticks. ^†

FreeStyle Libre 2 has enhanced features like optional real-time alarms with unsurpassed 14 day accuracy⁴, all for a fraction of the cost of other available CGM systems. ⁵ To ensure accessibility, Abbott put a unique global pricing structure in place to make the FreeStyle Libre technology available to as many people as possible.

We're grateful the Edison Awards recognized the innovations found in the BinaxNOW COVID-19 test and the FreeStyle Libre 2 system for the ability to give people the knowledge they need, when they need it to make informed decisions about their health. That’s why our teams continue to innovate and develop industry-leading technologies.

References

¹ International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas, 9th Edition, 2019.
² Data on file. Abbott Diabetes Care.
³ Dexcom G6 CGM User Guide.
⁴ Based on FDA iCGM special controls.
⁵ Based on a comparison of list prices of the FreeStyle Libre portfolio versus competitors' CGM systems.

† Finger sticks are required for treatment decisions when you see Check Blood Glucose symbol, when symptoms do not match system readings, when you suspect readings may be inaccurate, or when you experience symptoms that may be due to high or low blood glucose.

This story was originally published on April 23, 2021 and updated on June 15, 2022.