Quidel was founded by Dr. David H. Katz, M.D., commencing operations in 1981 and launched its first products in 1984. Quidel Corporation was formed in 1991 when Quidel and Monoclonal Antibodies merged.In 1988, Dr. Katz, a founder and chief scientific officer at Quidel, resigned to devote his energies to the Medical Biology Institute, a nonprofit research group in La Jolla, California that is closely allied with Quidel.On June 18, 1997 Quidel settled a lawsuit with Becton Dickinson. Quidel had been accused of infringing patents on Becton's strep and chlamydia products. Quidel agreed to buy a product license and pay royalties on its product sales.In 1999, Quidel acquired Metra Biosystems, Inc.to participate in bone health assessment. In 2000, Quidel acquired Litmus Concepts, Inc., a privately held in vitro diagnostic company.In February 2004, Inverness Medical Innovations sued Quidel for patent infringement. That same month, Quidel countersued against Inverness.In 2010, Quidel acquired Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc. a privately held in vitro diagnostic company. In 2013, Quidel acquired BioHelix Corporation, established in 2004, and was to pay $10 million to the BioHelix shareholders.In May 2020, Quidel’s Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA has become the first COVID-19 antigen test to be granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA, approved by former Quidel employee Tim Stenzel.in December 2021, Quidel announced it would acquire Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Holdings for $6 billion in cash and stock, increasing the range of COVID-19 antigen and antibody tests the business is able to offer.
List of mergers and acquisitions
The following is an illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors:
