TBG says reason for pre-halt price jump was Europe COVID-19 kit nod

We now know why TBG Diagnostics (ASX:TDL) shares more than doubled this week: it has European approval for its COVID-19 testing kit.

The company’s Chinese investee received CE approval for a nucleic acid diagnostics kit for COVID-19, meaning it can now start selling the device in Europe, currently the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic.

TBG only announced the news this morning. It was not able to beat insiders to a trading halt yesterday, as the stock rose 170 per cent from Monday before the company’s stock was suspended.

TBG owns 47 per cent of TBG Biotechnology Xiamen. The kit made by the Chinese company uses RNA (ribonucleic acid) to detect the RDRP, N and E genes of the COVID-19 virus.

Today, the indicative stock price is guided up 37 per cent to 37c. It was 10c on Monday.

Western countries’ efforts to stem COVID-19 infections have been hampered by a lack of tests.

In Australia overnight the first of 100,000 kits were due to arrive, alleviating the shortage here.

China is now trying to recast itself from virus source to world saviour by sending kits around the world.

Then again, Chinese state media is also trying to say the coronavirus didn’t originate in Wuhan, but was brought by the US military when it visited in October last year.

In other ASX COVID-19 news:

Yet another company has launched a hand sanitiser range. Wellness and Beauty Solutions (ASX: WNB) is stocking its products in Chemist Warehouse and looking to sell in Asia. The company’s product comes with a difference though: they come in an array of scents including peach/cucumber and lavender.

Aeris Environmental (ASX:AEI) says its sanitiser formulation has been proved to work against one of the coronaviruses that has been used as a surrogate for COVID-19 in disinfectant studies. It too is scaling up production.

Last year Zoono (ASX:ZNO) was a $14m company. Now it’s a $250m company and selling $150,000 worth of hand sanitisers and sundries online a day.