EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC UK contract for COVID-19 sample collection kits (2370L)
April 29 2020 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMEKF
RNS Number : 2370L
EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLC
29 April 2020
This announcement contains inside information
for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014
(MAR)
EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc
("EKF", the "Company" or the "Group")
UK supply contract for COVID-19 sample collection kits
Source BioScience to use PrimeStore MTM kits for COVID-19
testing service
EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the AIM quoted
point-of-care business, announces that it has signed an agreement
with Source BioScience UK Ltd ("Source BioScience"), which provides
Laboratory testing services for the NHS, to supply PrimeStore MTM,
a novel patented sample collection device, to be used for its
growing COVID-19 testing service.
Yesterday, the Company announced that is in the final stages of
establishing a UK production line for the PrimeStore MTM sample
collection kits at its site in Penarth, South Wales, to meet
increasing demand. The Penarth site is expected to produce 12,500
sample collection tubes a day once normal production is
established, with smaller early batch volumes expected to be
shipped to Source BioScience next month.
Source BioScience, which provides ISO:15189 Laboratory testing
services for the NHS and private healthcare, is working with a
number of businesses providing them COVID-19 testing services of
their staff to allow business to bring back staff who may be
self-isolating due to concerns over infection or infection of a
family member. Being able to use the PrimeStore MTM transport media
allows a significant benefit of removing the cold chain
transportation that is a necessary protocol for other transport
media.
EKF is a contract manufacturer for the PrimeStore MTM sample
collection device, an FDA-approved and CE-marked device owned and
created by Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics LLC ("Longhorn"), a US
company. PrimeStore MTM deactivates viruses, bacteria, fungi and
mycobacterium tuberculosis allowing safe sample handling and
transport, greatly reducing risk of infection. The device was
invented in 2006 in preparation for a worldwide pandemic and is
designed to de-activate pathogen rapidly and stabilise the RNA for
up to four weeks with no requirement for cold storage. This makes
the logistics of sample collection less expensive and allows
testing to be more readily available to institutions and businesses
that need to test staff regularly.
Commenting, Julian Baines, CEO of EKF Diagnostics, said: "We are
delighted to supply Longhorn's PrimeStore MTM collection kits to
Source BioScience, a well-established provider of testing services
to the NHS. These collection kits will ensure that COVID-19 samples
can be handled and transported without expensive refrigeration or
fear of contamination. This is a key part of the testing process to
ensure that as a nation we can safely and rapidly increase our
testing capacity. We will continue to ramp up our production
capacity here in the UK and in Europe to serve the demand we expect
to see, as testing moves closer to reaching the Government's target
of 100,000 tests a day."
Commenting, Jay LeCoque, Chairman and CEO of Source BioScience,
said: "We are very encouraged with this partnership and significant
development from EKF, which allows the removal of cold chain
transportation, making logistics of samples less expensive and more
available to the many hospitals and businesses needing to test key
workers and staff regularly. This dramatically expands the reach of
COVID-19 testing services to a larger population and will support a
faster economic recovery."
EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc www.ekfdiagnostics.com
Christopher Mills, Non-executive Chairman Tel: +44 (0) 29 2071 0570
Julian Baines, CEO
Richard Evans, FD & COO
N+1 Singer Tel: 020 7496 3000
Aubrey Powell / George Tzimas (Corporate
Finance)
Tom Salvesen (Corporate Broking)
Walbrook PR Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7933 8780 or ekf@walbrookpr.com
Paul McManus / Lianne Cawthorne Mob: +44 (0) 7980 541 893 / +44 (0) 7584
391 303
About EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc ( www.ekfdiagnostics.com
)
EKF is a leading point-of-care diagnostics and central
laboratory assay manufacturer with an estimated 80,000 hemoglobin,
hematocrit, HbA1c, glucose and lactate analyzers in regular use
across more than 100 countries. EKF specializes in developing tests
for use in anemia and diabetes diagnosis and management, as well as
providing a as well as providing Central Laboratory &
Lifesciences services in the area of clinical chemistry, small lab
analysers, contract fermentation, enzyme manufacturing and
specialised contract manufacturing.
About Source BioScience Limited ( www.sourcebioscience.com )
Source BioScience is an international provider of integrated
state of the art Laboratory Services and Products. Headquartered in
the UK, with offices in UK, Europe and the USA, Source BioScience
is privately held, having been acquired through a public to private
transaction led by majority shareholders Harwood Capital LLP and
Continental Investment Partners in September of 2016. Serving a
variety of markets, the company's multidisciplinary expertise
includes: Outsourced Histopathology Reporting Services & Human
Tissue Testing Services; NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) &
Sanger Sequencing Services; Stability Storage Solutions; and Blood
& Tissue Serology Product Manufacture.
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END
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