Cue Health is exiting the diagnostics business following a recent FDA warning. Last week, the FDA advised users to dispose of Cue Health’s main product. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the company will close its operations by the end of this week and lay off all remaining staff and leadership.
Cue Health gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing portable testing devices to organizations such as the NBA, MLB, and the Department of Defense. The company’s palm-sized cartridges and readers, which aimed to deliver lab-quality PCR results, received significant recognition and FDA approvals.
Investors were once very optimistic about Cue Health. In June 2020, the company raised $100 million in funding and secured a federal contract worth nearly half a billion dollars to expand its manufacturing capabilities. Cue Health later went public, raising $200 million through an IPO, and achieved a valuation nearing $3 billion. The company initially marketed its coronavirus test as a first step toward offering a wide range of home-based diagnostics.
