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• the government confirming that the roll out of Q16/32s in the NHS continues (as per the Independent article);
• interim results from the Queen Mary trial demonstrating the reliability and accuracy of Novacyt’s NPT system;
• the launch of PROmate™, a new product to improve the workflow efficiency of Novacyt’s NPT system for COVID-19testing;
• Novacyt announcing it already has increased production capacity for the Q16/32s by more than 5 times (with potential for more), with that announcement coming seven weeks into the DHSC contract;
• a bunch of insiders spending significant amounts of money on company shares, with those buys happening six weeks into the DHSC contract;
• the roll-out of Versalab™, another NPT formula with a significant role for the Q16/32 machines aimed at the private sector (announcement eight weeks into the DHSC contract).
That to me doesn’t sound as if the wheels are coming off with regard to Novacyt’s NPT strategy, quite the contrary.
Ready for another manic Monday.
Same here Donno. Great additions to the portfolio and solid confirmation of boots on the ground in the US. From anticipating the future of diagnostics to (co-)shaping that future.
Hillseeker, I wish your take were true, but if it was, Novacyt would surely have informed the market accordingly (a 406M ‘regular’ testing contract on top of the announced 250M+ Q16/32+tests contract would certainly have merited a separate RNS).
I personally think the reported 406M represents the max value of the announced phase 1a/b Q16/32 contract. In their 29/9 RNS, Novacyt have probably stated the likely minimum value of the contract (e.g. by assuming that all tests used would be their regular Covid-19 tests). The government/DHSC meanwhile, may have booked the contract at its maximum value (e.g. by assuming that most tests used will be Winterplex). The price difference between regular C-19 and Winterplex could easily explain the 250M minimum mentioned by Novacyt, and the 406M announced by the gov.
I don’t think the 406M refers to phase 2. Phase 2 should easily be over 500M (250*700/300, ignoring a possible change in duration), and would not have started at 28 Sept.
The only thing I cannot match are the time frames. Novacyt’s RNS mentioned 14+10 weeks for phase 1a and 1b. The bidstats entry talks about 4 months, which neither matches 1a or 1b nor the two of them combined. So entirely sure I’m not.
Anyway, whatever it is, it’s a good one at 100M per month.
This article mentions there are about 15,550 care homes in England alone, with over 400,000 residents.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/nov/16/care-homes-criticise-han****-visitor-testing-nationwide-christmas-unachievable-coronavirus
Too many to be served by one company I would think, especially within a time frame of just a few months (machines, tests and training).
Much to like in this RNS, not in the least the words "and globally" sneaked into this sentence:
"As Novacyt’s NPT system continues to be deployed across the NHS, and globally, this improvement in workflow efficiency for COVID-19 testing is expected to make the system one of the quickest and easiest to use PCR platforms in its class."
Well on track to gain a foothold in what should be the future of diagnostics, so it would seem.
@Matt: you don't have to be on twitter to be able to follow what's going on there. Google 'twitter' and '#NCYT' and you'll get there.
So how does a move to SETS happen? By request of the company or automatically when certain criteria are met?
has apparently taken a small position: https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xfra/nyz/ownership
GLA
Not an expert, but I think the significance of this cannot be underestimated and I can see demand for testing remaining very substantial until there is a near 100% effective vaccine (which may never arrive). Imagine you’ve got the vaccine, 50% effective. Next, sometime in the months following you develop a cold/flu, with symptoms that could also point at Covid-19. What are you going to do, knowing how bad an undetected/untreated case of Covid-19 can hurt you? Are you going to ignore that 50% chance or are you going to take a test? Now do the same assuming the vaccine is 60, 70 or even 80% effective. I’d still go for a test. Anything less than a near 100% effective vaccine simply is not going to take away the need for testing of people with cold/flu-like symptoms that could also point at Covid-19, IMO.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/13/operation-moonshot-doubts-over-uk-covid-saliva-tests-plan-after-trial-scaled-back
Apparently due to limited desire in the community to participate.
Good our trial happened in places of care, where non-participation should not have been an issue.
They applied for Chinese FDA approval back in Feb/March, but I don't recall we were ever given the result of that application. That China has not been mentioned again in an RNS since, suggests to me that at least for COVID19 they don't consider it a viable market for now. But I might be wrong of course. Was China mentioned during the AGM?
Before we all get too excited: wallstreet-online.de is a German outlet. More German than American readers I'd expect. Still nice to be mentioned there though.
FDA has started to systematically compare the performance of Covid19 tests for which EUA was requested:
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/sars-cov-2-reference-panel-comparative-data
Our test is still "under interactive review".
Interesting to see the scope of the competition in the US: we're definitely not alone out there.
Good close in Paris at 3.70 with some 200k shares bought in just the last 5 minutes. Someone didn't want to be out overnight.
Voleon short is still registered as 1.03%, unchanged since August 11.
From the Half-Year Trading Update: "Certain contracts for the supply of the test have also been extended into the second half of the year and in some cases into 2021." So technically they may already have 'announced' it. Thoroughly agree that it would be nice to get some details, and preferably soon given how strong the pull of gravity is on this one.
Wilson, from the R&D update of 27/7, the section about the development of a respiratory testing panel:
“Novacyt has been working closely with certain key opinion leaders to determine the make-up of such panels. This has resulted in the development of a panel covering the differential diagnosis of influenza A&B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19. Novacyt expects to launch the panel as a CE Mark product in September 2020 for the 2020/21 “flu season” in the Northern hemisphere.”
They know how it works.
BARHEMSYS launched in the US: https://acaciapharma.com/news/2020/08/barhemsys-amisulpride-injection-launched-and-commercially-available-in-the-us-for-the-treatment-and-prevention-of-postoperative-nausea-vomiting-ponv
Co-Diagnostics (CODX), a small US player with a somewhat similar Covid-19 test portfolio and recent history as Novacyt (i.e. struggling to make money until Covid-19 came along) makes for an interesting comparison.
Last Thursday it reported revenues of $26M (of which 24M in Q2), gross profits of $17M, and $19M cash on hand for H1 (http://codiagnostics.com/co-diagnostics-inc-announces-q2-2020-results/). For the full year it may end up with $80-100M in revenues.
Obviously, 2020 for CODX will be as transformational as it is for Novacyt. However, there is (as far as I can see) nothing to suggest that CODX should have a brighter post-Covid future than Novacyt. More likely it is the opposite, as Novacyt is the more versatile company and has a bigger global footprint (CODX so far sells to less than 50 countries).
And yet, the market (after a 22% rout on Friday, as expectations were not met) values CODX at nearly $450M, or about 5x their (likely) revenues for 2020. Analysts meanwhile maintain price targets representing a nearly $1B market cap, or 10x revenues for 2020 (e.g. H.C Wainwright with a target of $33, given after the release of the H1 report).
Compare that with us, trading at a measly 1x (likely) annual revenues and still going without ‘professional’ analyst opinions. Something's got to give in the next few weeks or months, imo.