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Some At-Home Tests May Miss Omicron in Early Stages of Infection
Jan 7, 2022
THURSDAY, Jan. 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The Abbott BinaxNOW and Quidel QuickVue — two widely used rapid at-home COVID-19 tests — may sometimes fail to spot evidence of the omicron variant in the first days after infection, even when people are carrying substantial levels of the virus, preliminary research suggests.

The researchers focused on 30 people infected with COVID-19 at five workplaces that experienced what were most likely outbreaks of the omicron variant last month. The people received both saliva-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and rapid antigen-based tests involving nasal swabs. It took three days, on average, for people to test positive on the two rapid antigen tests after their first positive PCR result, researchers reported. In four cases, people transmitted the virus to others after a negative result. The study was posted on a preprint server online and has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.27.21268278v1.full.pdf

From same study in “ Science” interesting conclusion on testing:
“Recently , self testing kits have become widely available for purchase in Denmark. This could influence the results, for instance if individuals that self-test at home refrain from also being tested in public testing facilities, meaning that their test results are not regis- tered in the national databases. However, the probability of being tested was very similar between RT-PCR and any test (Figure 1 and Appendix Figure 5), and consequently most positive antigen tests were confirmed with a positive RT-PCR test, so we assume that has likely also been the case for positive self-tests as well. Moreover, we believe that this potential bias will impact both the Delta and the Omicron VOC transmission estimates equally.”

From Danish study published in this week’s “ Science “ :
There’s another possible explanation for Omicron’s explosive spread that the household study would not be able to pick up, notes epidemiologist Bill Hanage of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. If the virus is really better at replicating in the upper airways, it might be expelled more readily into the surrounding air, making it more likely to trigger superspreading events. And if it truly causes milder illness, even people who shed a lot of virus might have few symptoms, making them more likely to be out and about. If so, banning large gatherings and closing down nightlife and restaurants might be even more effective at slowing the spread of Omicron than that of previous variants, Hanage says.

BEGO back on the bid, watch out NY is coming!

Nice prints total of 52,000 just gone through

Good read across for Avacta and their LFT business.

Quidel Announces Preliminary Revenue for Fourth Quarter 2021

https://ir.quidel.com/news/news-release-details/2022/Quidel-Announces-Preliminary-Revenue-for-Fourth-Quarter-2021/default.aspx

Renewed M&A in LFT area,2021/22 again supply vs demand issue !

Covid test maker OraSure Technologies (NASDAQ:OSUR) rose 1.8% in premarket trading after the company announced it's exploring strategic alternatives and its CEO Stephen Tang will leave the company as of March 31.
The company said its considering a "broad range" of strategic alternatives, according to a statement. Evercore is serving as OraSure’s financial advisor and Troutman Pepper is serving as the Company’s legal advisor in this evaluation.
The announcement about exploring alternatives comes after a report in July that that company rejected a bid from Quidel (NASDAQ:QDEL). Late last month Quidel announced a deal to acquire Ortho Clinical (NASDAQ:OCDX).

Home testing mentioned PM debate!!

16-20 and then we have Thursday and Friday, with Covid cases going north big time across Europe

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has tested positive for Covid for a second time and is now isolating.
His deputy, Angela Rayner, will fill in for him at the first 2022 session of Prime Minister's Questions, which starts at 15:00 GMT.
Sir Keir also tested positive for Covid last October and had to miss the Budget as a result.
And he has previously had to self-isolate four times after coming into contact with others testing positive.
Sir Keir's latest positive test comes after the UK reported its highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic, with 218,724 announced on Tuesday.
He will have to isolate for seven days, assuming he tests negative on days six and seven.

Just as a reminder, Innova failed in the US and got banned and they failed the study back in Liverpool in 2020!!

Prof Richard Tedder, Senior Research Investigator in Medical Virology, Imperial College London, said:

“The data presented on the performance of the Innova lateral flow assay for detecting SARS-CoV-2 clearly indicate in this study that when compared against a benchmark molecular test such as a quantitative PCR the lateral flow test is very very much less sensitive, detecting only about half of the known positive samples subjected to testing. Indeed it even failed to detect two out of five samples with the highest level of viral gene copies, these displayed a PCR CT of < 20 (i.e. were samples which could be diluted one million fold and still give a positive PCR signal). This graphically shows that this assay is simply not sensitive enough to use to test persons with a view to confirming an absence of infection and thereby an absence of infectivity. A negative result with this lateral flow test simply does not infer an absence of infection.”

News flow will be quite something in January and on top of the UK stepping up a gear, the EU/ Asia news flow will begin to be very evident.
Happy new year to everyone and being able to pick up stock below 130p, will certainly be very rewarding in January.AVA6000 trial update around the corner as well!! From the US as well

Goldman Sachs introducing twice a week mandatory testing from second week in January

As COVID testing lines grow, Biden flags 'state level' and more work to do

Dec. 28, 2021 6:47 AM ETQuidel Corporation (QDEL), ABT, BDX, DGXFLGT, HOLX, OSUR, HLTH, LHDX, DHR, PKI, FLDMBy: Yoel Minkoff, SA News Editor
Drive-through covid testing in Dallas, TX
E4C/E+ via Getty Images
In a meeting with some of the nation's governors, President Biden pledged to support states struggling with the Omicron variant, but acknowledged that they will need to take the lead in controlling the pandemic. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who is chair of the National Governors Association, was also on the call, and the two discussed COVID testing as people struggle to find at-home test kits on drugstore shelves and experience long lines at testing centers across the nation.
Quote: "Your task force has been responsive and has kept us informed every step of the way. One word of concern or encouragement for your team is that as the - as you look towards federal solutions that will help alleviate the challenge, make sure that we do not let federal solutions stand in the way of state solutions," noted Hutchinson. "The production of 500M rapid tests that will be distributed by the federal government is great, but, obviously, that dries up the supply chain for the solutions that we might offer as governor."
"Look, there is no federal solution. This gets solved at a state level," Biden responded. "And then it ultimately gets down to where the rubber meets the road, and that's where the patient is in need of help or preventing the need for help. And as I said last week, Omicron is a source of concern, but it should not be a source of panic. Last week, we took steps to bolster support for you with, number one, more capacity to get shots in arms, with more places, more vaccinators, more times for folks to get vaccinated or get a booster shot."
"Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do. We went from no over-the-counter tests in January to 46M in October, 100M in November and almost 200M December. But it's not enough, it's clearly not enough. If we had known, we would have gone harder and quicker if we could have," Biden continued. "My message to the governors is simple: If you need something, say something - and we - we're going to have your back in any way we can."
End of the call: "Because of steps we have been taking to increase the number of authorized tests, we're now able to purchase 500M at-home rapid tests to be sent to the American people for free when they request it. And we're going to continue to use the Defense Production Act to produce as many tests as possible. And starting in two weeks, private insurance will reimburse you for the cost of at-home tests. We're providing access to free tests for folks who don't have insurance. But we have to do more. We have to do better, and we will.
Coronavirus testing stocks: Quidel (NASDAQ:QDEL), Fulgent Genetics (NASDAQ:FLGT), Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX), Ab

Have a good Christmas and prepare for a pre New Year?s RNS, first orders.

Ortho Clinical makes products for diagnosing diseases and other equipment used for in-vitro diagnostics, a nearly $80 billion market that serves hospitals and clinics. It also has several COVID-19 tests authorized for emergency use in the United States.

Further consolidation in the Covid 19 testing sector.
Quidel Corporation (QDEL) (“Quidel”) and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Holdings plc (OCDX) (“Ortho”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement in which Quidel will acquire Ortho, one of the world’s largest in vitro diagnostics companies, for $24.68 per share of common stock using a combination of cash and newly issued shares in the combined company, representing a 25% premium over Ortho’s closing price on December 22, 2021 and an equity value of approximately $6.0 billion. The transaction is expected to close during the first half of fiscal year 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

Avacta’s Diagnostics Division post this week’s announcement will enjoy a very strong read across valuation uplift.

Another 50,000 gone through

Monthly OTC production about to go live and broker est. will be going north fast. New target price 365p Oh! Did I mention AVA6000 phase 1 trials now in the US.