Shares of Omega Diagnostics Group Plc (LON: ODX) rallied 5.23% after the UK Rapid Test Consortium (UK-RTC), a group of UK diagnostics firms, presented new data regarding the effectiveness of the AbC-19TM rapid antibody test manufactured by the consortium.
According to a study done at Birmingham University on people who had received a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the AbC-19TM rapid antibody test measured patients' immune response after the first dose of the vaccine.
The test also isolated different immune responses in people previously infected by the virus and people with no prior infection history.
Omega Diagnostics shares spiked higher following the announcement, given that the shares soared last week after the medical diagnostics company hinted at today’s results in a classic buy the rumour sell the news story.
The AbC-19 lateral flow test proved to have the highest accuracy in Public Health England tests compared to three other rapid tests in a study conducted on a single group of participants.
Omega Diagnostics is expected to report annual earnings of £9.3 million for 2020 after halting its work on allergy medications last year to focus on COVID-19 tests, which cost the firm about £8.73 million.
The UK-RTC issued a statement saying: “The initial data from the study being performed at the University of Birmingham supports the rationale that vaccination programmes could benefit from determining an individual's antibody status not only after vaccination but also prior to vaccination. Should these results continue to be seen in further studies, and with other vaccines, this demonstrates that the AbC-19 TM antibody test could potentially assist in patient stratification and resource management in overburdened international healthcare settings.”
Omega Diagnostics share price.
Omega Diagnostics shares rallied 5.23% to trade at 90.5p after rising from Wednesday’s closing price of 86p.
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