Member Info for scardey_cat

tomvisual:
Ian Hislop is on the case.
https://www.private-eye.co.uk/news

A pal of mine wrote this song a good few years back for Cannon & Ball (I still own half of it, if I can ever find the contract). I remember sitting in the pub with him a couple of months before Chrimbo listening to the duke box, saying "Just think mate, we'll be listening to that song in here in a couple of months time and we'll both be loaded!". Sadly, for some reason, it never got released and we never got loaded. Just hoping AS comes up with goods and we'll all be loaded this Christmas.

It's called "Don't forget My Christmas Present". Video quality is rubbish, but will give you a flavour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DbIQw2CM7s

Good to know we've got all the car parks covered. DOH watching Liverpool, TaulPaul doing Whetherby...just remind me who's on duty at Cambridge?

It does make you wonder if we have all been massively overreacting to the 23rd Nov RNS. I feel that the main purpose of that RNS was to 'gently' introduce the idea of swab samples for the LFT. Anticipating an adverse market reaction, they tried to make this as palatable as possible, by putting in the sweetener of "The development of an Affimer-based lateral flow antigen test that can be manufactured at scale being carried out in partnership with BBI Solutions has made substantial progress".

Now, if the above accurately describes the thought processes that went into that RNS, then it's not so difficult to see how the focus on getting this slightly awkward news out as delicately as possible, could have distracted AS and his team from giving the more meticulous update on the LFT that we might have expected. For example, no news on Abingdon TT, no mention of Cytiva etc. So, it could just be that this kind of tunnel-vision thought process, along with a slight sense of panic, led to an RNS that was poorly constructed, left unanswered questions and contained some gaps. Questions and gaps that we have all been construing in an overly negative way, over the last couple of weeks. It could very well be that the situation is much more positive than has been reflected in all pessimistic speculation over this recent period.

This article dated 27th Oct by Sophie White, Cytiva Communications Manager, suggests relationship with Avacta still intact. So, unless something dramatic happened between 27th Oct and 23rd Nov (Avacta RNS), then we can assume Cytiva still involved:

https://www.cytivalifesciences.com/en/us/news-center/cytiva-strengthens-support-to-diagnostics-industry-with-new-labs-services-and-supply-chain-enhanceme-10001

Also, they still have us showing under collaborations on their website:

https://www.cytivalifesciences.com/en/us/coronavirus-update

Collaborations
The COVID-19 crisis has brought together the scientific community like never before. Our global team is helping to accelerate the work of researchers, developers, and manufacturers of diagnostics and vaccines, to bring access to much-needed solutions for COVID-19.

Collaberations:
Genedrive: PCR assay to detect SARS-CoV-2
Sona Nanotech: rapid response lateral flow test
Avacta: Affimer-based point-of-care rapid screening test
Entos Pharmaceuticals: downstream purification method for protein-based vaccine
Takara Bio: plasmid vaccine
Aptamer Group: rapid response lateral flow test

Can't read that link NR11. You have to subscribe to read. Any chance of posting the content? Cheers

Correct. I think RS is thinking of Brad Gobright who died a couple of weeks ago.

RS: DOH actually starred in "Free Solo".
Incredible film, by the way.

There's still a lot to play for here. The market for a highly accurate LFT (with less intrusive sample method) is enormous. These Chinese tests are ok for mass screening (to a point), but not viable for care homes, venues etc., where you have to pretty certain of an accurate result. Nobody's cracked it so far. Unsurprisingly, coming up with such a test is taking longer than it's taken for all these other generic tests that are hitting the market. So, whilst the wait is frustrating (massive understatement), we may well end up with the 'go to' test for the above 'use case'.

Think you should abbreviate to WaffAl.

I was reading up on the September Heathrow covid test trials today. Hadn't realised that the Mologic test, which was part of that trial, was a saliva based LFT. Made me wonder why these two companies (Avacta and Mologic) were convinced enough to go down the saliva sampling route. Presumably both of them were happy with their own analysis re: S&S etc. The results of the Heathrow tests are yet to be published, but the 'powers that be' have been updated. Will be interesting to see if those results had any influence on the governments seeming preference for the swab sample type test (if it is in fact their preference) and ultimately, Avacta's 'switch' to swab.

Quite a good paper on Optimers vs. Affimers

https://www.labome.com/method/Aptamers-and-Affimers.html

https://www.innovamedgroup.com/the-img-story

tomvisual: Hope they are on the case. Just read on IMG website, they're aiming to manufacture 8 million tests per day as of 1st Jan 2021.

"Quite incredible that possibly £1.2B of contracts have been issued to a one man band who has registered the head office in a terraced house and operational HQ is an apartment"

Even more incredible that none of the press have picked up on it. Great story if you want to have a go at the govt.

Speaking of which. I was talking to a Russian friend of mine yesterday. She tells me they have started rolling out their vaccine over there, to doctors and teachers first. The vaccine comes in packs of 5 and have to be stored at -30c. They have a 2 hours shelf life once out of the freezer. Anyway, not a lot of people turning up and lots of vaccines being thrown away. They've got to the point that they'll vaccinate anybody that turns up now, because they don't want to keep wasting them.

Just to say, good luck with the Pfizer vaccine. Comes in packs of 975, has to be stored at -70c, with 5 hours de-thawed shelf life.

You should be first to see the RNS coming from those heights DOH. Just give us the nod will ya.

Thanks Twatcher. It seems a logical conclusion to me that Abingdon have delayed the IPO until MHRA approval. One poster mentioned earlier that they thought it had been delayed through lack of take-up. Would be interested to see any evidence of that. I wonder if when the Abingdon IPO is resurrected, we can assume they've been given the 'nod' re: MHRA approval (unless approval comes first, of course).

Twatcher: what document are you referring to? Care to share? Can't see any document in trilla's post history.

Thanks dunsford, thought that was probably the case. I just wondered if they might be giving antigen test prior to vaccination, in order to avoid giving an infected person the vaccine.