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 France, like other countries, is betting on mass testing for
COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus, as
part of its strategy to emerge safely from the pandemic.
City laboratories in France that do the bulk of testing use kits
that are approved by the Haute Autorite de Sante regulatory body for
reimbursement via the social security system.
Novacyt said that although the regulator had not approved its test
for reimbursement in France, it could still sell the product there
for private patient testing.
Reimbursement was refused because Novacyt's test was developed with
a single gene target, the company said. Other methods usually
involve a DNA screening method known as generation sequencing, with
samples that are larger and require lengthier reviews.
Novacyt has singled itself out with a test able to detect the new
coronavirus in less than two hours. Standard testing, which also
identifies other strains, takes up to a day.
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Novacyt shares were down 9.8% at 3.51 euros at 1045 GMT, although they are still
up by more than 2,000% since the start of this year, spurred by a wave of orders
for its tests.
The company said on Tuesday it had total sales and confirmed orders worth 135
million euros ($150 million) for the product, with new deals in Zimbabwe and
across Latin America.
As of May 14, Novacyt's test had been approved in more than 16 countries. The
product has also received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the United
States' Food and Drug Administration.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Matthias Blamont; Editing by Barbara Lewis and
Mark Potter)
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