Lucira Health Inc. pushed through the Covid-19 pandemic to deliver one of the first at-home tests for the virus and survived a worker shortage that slowed production of its kits. In the end, the Emeryville company may be taken down by the flu.
Lucira generated $244.4 million in net revenue from the sales in the United States, European Union, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand, according to a bankruptcy court filing. But as testing has waned over the past two years of the pandemic, so did Lucira's potential for funneling revenue from its $75, single-use, palm-sized Covid test into development of other tests.The company, originally called DiAssess Inc.
Lucira's board on Oct. 20 decided to cut 56 employees — about 25% of its workforce — then another 97 employees in a second round of job eliminations completed in January. The company now has 63 employees and $4.5 million cash, according to Narido's declaration to the bankruptcy court. None of the parties was willing to engage in an out-of-court transaction to buy or finance Lucira's business.