Ncyt Cornovirus Vaccine leak!8 Feb 2020 06:48
London-listed biotechnology company has applied for emergency approval from American regulators to fast-track clearance of a test for coronavirus (Alex Ralph writes).
Novacyt, which is also listed in Paris and specialises in clinical diagnostics, said that demand for its test had soared since the outbreak of the virus. It said that it had received 33,000 orders worldwide.
Emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration would allow laboratories in the United States to use the test for clinical diagnosis on a temporary basis, Novacyt said.
It is also aiming for a launch in Europe this month, subject to regulatory approval, and is in talks with NHS hospitals and Public Health England. It has sold a small number of vaccines to some hospitals for “validation purposes”.
Novacyt is headquartered in France, but most of its operations are in Camberley, Surrey. Primerdesign, its subsidiary developing the test, is based in Southampton. Scientists and drugs companies, including Glaxosmithkline, the UK-listed group, Johnson & Johnson, of the US, and Sanofi, of France, are in a race to help to develop a vaccine. Several, including Roche, the Swiss pharmaceuticals group, have donated tests.
However, Novacyt said that its test was designed to detect only the 2019 strain of the virus, “which the directors believe differentiates it from a number of current tests, which are less specific and could, therefore, react to other related viruses, potentially giving rise to a false diagnosis.
“The Primerdesign test can generate a result in less than two hours, meaning that all samples can be screened quickly, which could help to stop the unnecessary spread of this virus. The test is also stable at ambient temperatures, which eliminates the need for cold-chain shipping in tropical climates and therefore improves the efficiency of the test and reduces transport costs.”
The update sent its shares up 26 per cent, or 10½p, to 51p.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uk-listed-biotech-seeks-fast-track-approval-for-virus-test-z03xm556b
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It is also aiming for a launch in Europe this month, subject to regulatory approval, and is in talks with NHS hospitals and Public Health England. It has sold a small number of vaccines to some hospitals for “validation purposes”.
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