Point of care molecular diagnostics company Genedrive (GDR:AIM) has entered into several distribution agreements for its rapid Covid-19 test-kit. The test, which received CE accreditation in early December 2021, means it can now be sold across Europe.
Genedrive shares surged in early trading as investors got very excited about the implied revenue growth potential, the stock jumping as much as 35% before easing off those highs. At 10.30am, the shares are trading up 23% at 17.67p.
Such volatility is hardly new for Genedrive. For example, the shares surged 80% to 42p after announcing the EU submission in December, yet they subsequently sank back to 14.5p. In May 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Genedrive shares hit a record of 173p.
ROUTE TO MARKET
The new distribution agreements cover Spain, Portugal, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, while other European countries are said to be assessing the product.
Distributers are targeting pharmacies, sports stadiums and workplaces and the initial arrangements are designed to access each local market as well as assess the long-term market potential.
The product cannot be sold in the UK until it receives approval from new regulations which came into effect last October. The company noted that although the UK government’s approach to testing is changing rapidly, future opportunities would be discretionary in nature.
IMPROVED DETECTION
Genedrive’s Covid-19 testing kit provides a positive test result within 7.5 minutes and a negative test result with 17 minutes while the company has said the test was ‘several orders of magnitude’ more sensitive than current lateral flow antigen tests.
Chief executive David Budd commented: ‘We are pleased with the distributor agreements we have contracted to date and expect to expand to additional countries in due course.
‘While UK government policy has changed, opportunities are continuing in other markets that are taking a different approach with regards to testing.’
