Novacyt reports solid demand for coronavirus test

Clinical diagnostics company Novacyt updated the market on the launch of its research-use only test for the Wuhan novel coronavirus strain, or 2019-nCoV, which was developed by its subsidiary Primerdesign as a direct response to the recent outbreak of the respiratory virus in China.

The AIM-traded firm said that, since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global emergency on 30 January, it had seen “strong demand” for its nCoV test, which was launched on 31 January.

To date, Primerdesign had received orders for 33,000 tests and requests for quotations for another 32,000 tests from more than 30 countries, with a high conversion rate from quotations to orders.

The company’s directors believed Novacyt was “well placed” to support the growing global demand for nCoV testing.

It also announced that it was planning to launch a CE-mark approved nCoV test in the week starting 17 February.

That approval would mean the nCoV test could be used for clinical diagnostic testing, as well as expanding its use in laboratories.

Novacyt’s board said they believed that Primerdesign would be one of the first companies to market its test with CE-mark approval.

In addition, it had applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use approval (EUA) of its nCoV test.

It said EUA would allow laboratories in the United States to use the nCoV test for clinical diagnosis on a temporary basis.

The company said it was working with the FDA in order to demonstrate the consistency and performance of the Primerdesign test for emergency use.

Finally, it said it was also in discussions with various NHS hospitals and Public Health England regarding the nCoV test, adding that it had already sold a limited number of tests to certain hospitals for their validation purposes.

“It is still early days in this public health emergency, however coronavirus has already been reported in 23 countries with more than 28,000 reported infections,” said chief executive officer Graham Mullis.

“As one of the first companies to develop and launch a test to detect the 2019 strain of nCoV, we have received unprecedented interest in our test and anticipate demand continuing to grow.

“In addition, we look forward to launching our CE-mark approved nCoV test, which we believe provides laboratories with a fast and reliable nCoV test without the need to carry out their own validation.”

At 1407 GMT, shares in Novacyt were up 24.44% at 50.4p.