Renesas ramps up chip volume for first, FDA-authorized, at-home COVID-19 test kit

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced that is delivering a synchronous boost converter solution in high volume for the first, at-home COVID-19 test authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Renesas prioritized a steep ramp-up for this kit to meet anticipated high demand. Testing is a key weapon in the fight against COVID-19 with more than 600 million tests administered in the United States so far this year.

The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Lucira Health, a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative infectious disease test kits, for its single-use, user-friendly, Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit, which can produce a positive or negative result at home within 30 minutes.

This is significantly faster than labs that currently take up to about seven days to generate similarly accurate test results. Lucira’s test kit is differentiated by its simple ‘swab, stir and detect’ design.

“We’re particularly pleased to contribute to Lucira’s important COVID-19 self-testing kit,” said Kris Rausch, VP of Americas Sales for the IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit at Renesas. “As part of our corporate-wide efforts, Renesas has prioritized customers and solutions that help society battle this global pandemic.”

Renesas delivers key solutions that are essential in helping society deal with the current pandemic. Healthcare, air purification, air-quality monitoring, networking, and mobility solutions from Renesas are being employed by customers around the world to enable a “new normal.”

“Delivering the first single-use, at-home, molecular test kit for COVID-19 was a tremendous achievment of which we are extremely proud,” added Erik T. Engelson, president & CEO. “It’s a testament to our technology, as well as the dedication and speed of our team. We required the same exceptional technology and speed from our suppliers, and Renesas quickly ramped-up to deliver exactly what we needed.”