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 Novacyt said it had signed its first major distribution agreement
for the COVID-19 coronavirus test with a global life sciences
company to supply the test to two Asian territories outside mainland
China, sending its shares to record highs.
It added that initial sales from this, which are subject to local
emergency use approval, were anticipated to total 2.1 million pounds
($2.73 million) in the first six months of the agreement.
Novacyt also announced a manufacturing deal with an unnamed U.S.
healthcare company.
"The two contracts announced today reinforce how quickly the
response to this virus is developing and shows our commitment to
support these efforts anywhere in the world," Novacyt CEO Graham
Mullis said.
Novacyt's progress in its coronavirus test product has lifted the
company's shares - which are quoted on both the Paris and London
markets - to record highs.
The stock was up by around 20% in early trade in Paris, and the
company's stock price has surged more than 800% on the Paris market
since the start of 2020.
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Most of the testing on the coronavirus is being done by public health
laboratories, but many companies around the world - such as Novacyt and others -
are working on tests.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc <TMO.N>, GenScript Biotech Corp <1548.HK> and
Co-Diagnostics Inc <CODX.O> have developed tests and are taking steps to get
them validated for clinical use.
Roche <ROG.S> is also distributing coronavirus tests developed by Tib Molbiol of
Berlin for research use on some of its instruments while developing a test of
its own. Abbott Laboratories <ABT.N> is also working on a test.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Jason Neely)
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