Britain's Avacta Group is halting sales of its COVID-19 rapid antigen lateral flow test to replace antibodies in the device and boost its ability to detect the Omicron variant, the biotech firm said on Monday, sending its shares plunging nearly 27%.
An illustration of the UK Government's website to book coronavirus disease home test kits, in London, Britain, April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville/IllustrationAvacta to replace antibodies in AffiDX testNo timeline for sales resumption, shares plunge 26.5%is halting sales of its COVID-19 rapid antigen lateral flow test to replace antibodies in the device and boost its ability to detect the Omicron variant, the biotech firm said on Monday, sending its shares plunging nearly 27%.
Scientists and governments are scrambling to bolster defences against Omicron with testing, shots, therapies, and by decoding the viral genomes to try and measure how far it has spread as the variant threatens to become dominant globally."Our determination to only provide ... high performance diagnostic tests has led us to the ...
While Avacta did not say when it expects to resume sales of an AffiDX test better-suited to Omicron, it said COVID-19 testing "remains a long-term commercial opportunity" for the company.
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