Omega Diagnostics shares rise as company selected to make Covid tests By Investing.com

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – Omega Diagnostics Group Plc (LON:ODX), the UK-listed healthcare company, has reportedly been selected by the UK Department of Health to produce additional lateral flow tests, according to the Financial Times. Omega Diagnostics, alongside SureScreen and Global Access Diagnostics are said to have been chosen to produce up to 2mln lateral flow devices per day.

Commenting on the article in the FT, Omega confirmed they are continuing to modify its Alva-based facility to “significantly” upscale its lateral flow test production capacity but refrained from confirming a signed deal with the UK government. “When contracts or supply agreements are signed to utilise this capacity the Company will announce this in line with AIM disclosure obligations,” Omega said in a statement.

The government also announced that private company SureScreen had signed a deal to supply a further 20mln rapid lateral flow tests. The tests from SureScreen have been proven to detect the new B117 variant (the Kent variant) of the coronavirus and have been validated by Public Health England.

Accuracy of lateral flow tests

There have been some question marks over the accuracy of lateral flow tests with some suggestions they miss a high number of active infections, up to 60% in some cases. A recent feature in the BMJ suggested that the accuracy of the tests depends on several factors including the onset of infection, the concentration of the virus in the specimen, the quality of processing and the precise formulation of the reagents in the test kits.

Omega Diagnostics

At the time of writing, Omega Diagnostics trade higher by around 24% at 86.65p per share, at their highest level this year. However, shares are still off their all time high of 127p, hit in October last year.