Benzinga | Dec 15, 2021 04:14PM EST

Quidel Announces Sponsorship And Community Partnership With The Chicago Blackhawks

Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) ("Quidel"), a provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, cellular-based virology assays and molecular diagnostic systems, has executed a multi-year partnership agreement with the Chicago Blackhawks to sponsor team promotions and community services. In the first year of the partnership agreement, the Blackhawks will work with Quidel to provide QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Tests free-of-charge to multiple Chicago Blackhawks Foundation community partners to help support local youth and their program staff to continue to learn and play with greater peace of mind.

"Quidel's partnership with the Chicago Blackhawks grew out of our commitment to expand equitable access to healthcare and our shared dedication to service, especially in this time of great need," said Douglas Bryant, President and CEO of Quidel. "We look forward to working with the Blackhawks, Fifth Third Arena, and the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation on initiatives that address current community health needs in ways that can create a positive impact. We believe our QuickVue At-Home rapid antigen tests will be particularly effective in this regard."

Recipients of the first Quidel donation include SOS Villages, Millennium Enterprises, Marillac St. Vincent Family Services, Austin Childcare Providers Network, The Bloc Chicago, and Cocina Fusion.

"We are grateful to Quidel for their donation of QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Tests to a number of our Chicago Blackhawks Foundation partners, who each serve our neighboring West Side community in a unique way," said Sara Guderyahn, Blackhawks Vice President of Community Partnerships & Executive Director of the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. "As our community continues to work to keep Chicago safe from COVID-19, Quidel's donation will help these organizations quickly identify potential outbreaks and support efforts to keep everything from afterschool programming to small businesses running."

The QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test allows individuals to easily perform the test themselves without a doctor's prescription and get results in 10 minutes from nasal swab samples. The QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test shows excellent performance, with positive results agreeing with PCR 83.5% of the time, and negative results agreeing 99.2% of the time, delivering confidence to individuals running the test and helping to prevent asymptomatic virus spread.

In addition to the community health initiative that is the bedrock of Quidel's partnership with the Blackhawks, Quidel's sponsorship agreement with the Blackhawks includes in-arena and practice facility marketing assets as well as sponsorship of an "Instant Analysis" feature during games.

"Our mission has been to democratize access to affordable and highly accurate COVID-19 testing so that people can take charge of their own health and protect others," Mr. Bryant noted. "The rapid testing and health education we are doing in partnership with the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation can provide the broader community a trusted brand to turn to for critical information they need to return some normalcy to their lives," he concluded.