The rise (and fall?) of the Covid testing industry
105,976
Published 2022-03-14
-----
The Covid-19 testing industry sprung up almost overnight.
There was an overwhelming demand for tests around the world, and entrepreneurs reacted quickly – pouring money into hiring staff, securing supplies and building laboratories. Together with more established players, testing capacity ballooned and a brand-new industry was born.
Qured is one of those newcomers. It was launched in 2017 as a doctor-on-demand service, but in 2020, the company spotted an opportunity it couldn't ignore.
"It was really demand from our patients, which drove our pivot towards Covid testing," said Alex Templeton, CEO and co-founder of Qured.
Initially, Qured focused on helping businesses bring their staff back to work safely, but it was an innovation in rapid self-testing for travel that put Qured on the map.
"We just started thinking about how to validate that it's you who's done it, that you've swabbed correctly. We figured out that a video call was the way to really solve this," Templeton said.
This innovation resonated with British Airways, and in February 2021 the carrier launched a partnership with Qured. From there, growth exploded, with the company striking deals with American Airlines and Heathrow Airport, as well.
Watch the video above to learn more about the rise of Covid testing companies, as well as what's next as the demand for these tests diminish.
Subscribe: cnb.cx/2wuoARM
CNBC International TV: cnb.cx/2NGytpz
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/cnbcinternational
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/cnbcinternational/
Twitter:
twitter.com/CNBCi
#CNBC #Covid #Business #CovidTest
All Comments (21)
-
Honestly i hope they all disappear, would feel sorry for the jobs but man aren't we over this by now?
-
Let's be clear , these laboratories didn't start up to help people, they started up to make money from the pandemic , helping people was secondary .
-
those labs made tons of money during the peak of the pandemic and they are not cheap in most part of the world.
-
The Pandemic just blew every Carbon Emmision celiing & reductions and not to mention the amount of disposable plastics for PPEs and test kits for regular usage is just mind blowing...
-
I expect the companies will downsize, but we could see home tests for things like colds and flus, possibly something that tests for multiple illnesses. So you don't have to guess as to whether you're sick. It would definitely help doctors who typically have to guess based on the symptoms. But if people have to buy the tests themselves, it's going to cause a discrepancy between those with the money who could afford to pay for the tests and those who without.
-
Your information on the UK was slightly wrong. You were correct that if you had symptoms you could use the NHS PCR testing service and if you travel you need to use the private industry. However if you want to do at home lat flow tests, these were provided by the government for free (a pack of 7 per person per day was the maximum) so people would test before going out to shows, seeing friend etc this only ended on the 1st April
-
I was going to do rapid tests but then the Government exempted truck drivers from testing requirements so now i just go to work and have no need to know
-
RIP to the loved ones lost in this pandemic.
-
Already expected this 2 years back…some people got ridiculously rich though
-
unreliable false positives just provides a stream of unjustified profits to the medical industry
-
Through pandemic or to pandemic? Which country has been through it, countries I hear about are busy with non industrial production of virus and new variants, have i missed news of some country that went through pandemic instead of to it?
-
Now that Canada has gotten rid of the negative COVID test to cross the border I am planning to never be tested again.
-
I have been a covid tester for a year, I'll be sad to be out of a job, but it was good while it lasted, I made between 20 and 27.50 per hour, I believe all of the government grants have ran out, we have been told we will ll go to bare bones employees and charge for tests now. Great job though.
-
I can tell you how It was like to stand In line. I booked one pcr before christmas 2020 to protect my grandma due to my job and I had to stand In line for hours
-
I'm done with COVID.
-
The tests are too expensive and don't work. People got sick of bothering after a while.
-
The background music is odd
-
I hope the need will end soon but it doesn't look like that at the moment. They can later do different tests like Influenza.
-
Thanks!
-
The economic hardship, recession, unemployment,and the loss of jobs caused by covid and the government is enough to push people into financial ventures. I'm differently taking a trip into investing because I lost so much during this pandemic. Multi creation of wealth is the best strategy to ensure financial sustainability...
