FDA okays record number of test kits.

The FDA's Division of Clinical Laboratory Devices approved 38 in vitro diagnostic devices for over-the-counter sale in 1999, according to Laboratory Industry Report (April 2000;8). The agency matched this record once before, in 1996. Sales of home test kits hit approximately $1.8 billion, an increase of more than 10% in 1999, noted Frost & Sullivan in Oakland, CA. This figure excludes blood pressure and temperature monitoring devices.