Australian biotech plays AnteoTech and Dotz Nano have been suitably rewarded by the marketplace after reporting progress on their coronavirus testing kits this morning.

AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) announced that a clinical study conducted by the Peter Doherty Institute’s Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory has validated AnteoTech’s antigen rapid test. They’re results the Brisbane nanotechnology company plans to use as the basis for a CE Mark submission to the European Union.

The test kit correctly identified 179 out of 184 nasopharyngeal samples that were positive for coronavirus, as confirmed by molecular lab tests (RT-PCR). That’s a sensitivity rate of 97.3 per cent. (No test on the market is 100 per cent accurate.)

Out of 260 samples that weren’t infected with coronavirus, the test only misdiagnosed one of them – a specificity rate of 99.6 per cent.

Common coronavirus, MERS and flu viruses didn’t produce false-positive results, AnteoTech said.

The company’s rapid test kit uses a low-cost portable reader that can deliver results in just 15 minutes.
 

Dotz Nano

Meanwhile Dotz Nano (ASX:DTZ) announced its saliva-based coronavirus test kit had won CE Mark approval in Europe.

The company already has a nasopharyngeal swab-based test kit with CE Mark approval, but a saliva one is obviously less intrusive, as well as more cost-efficient, Dotz says.

Dotz said its test kit could sell for as little as $US5 to $US6, and cost as little as $US2 to manufacture. But it isn’t forecasting any revenue from the sale of these kits just yet, given the uncertainty around the pandemic and gaining regulatory approval.

It also hasn’t found a manufacturer yet, although it’s negotiating with several.

At 11.37am, Dotz shares were up 7.3 per cent to 29.5c, while AnteoTech shares had gained 17.8 per cent to 26.5c.
 

 

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