Ekf Diagnostics Share Discussion Threads

[wan] 21/6/2021 09:26

Personally speaking, I am looking forward to point of care tests that will effectively obsolete the Innova test, rather than wait for the governments efforts to support and justify their massive purchase and use of the Innova lateral flow tests (including sprinkling them about like confetti in order to use up the stock of millions!). Time will tell, but I believe heads deserve to fall!

Off some radars?

Staying with rapid point of care tests (that will almost certainly not be limited to Covid-19), and just as a reminder, let's not forget about PrimeStore ATM. Tests are emerging and commercially launching that do not require separate nucleic acid extraction or purification, such tests utilise a procedure that involves collecting an anterior nasal swab or nasopharyngeal swab sample which is eluted directly into the tests vial containing 'Extraction Buffer'. That extraction buffer is not a simple PBS in my view (which is suitable for many other tests/applications).

Another reminder -

PrimeStore® ATM is a virucidal, bacteriostatic, Guanidine-free sample collection device, offering highly sensitive antigen testing capabilities.

An initial EUA using PrimeStore® ATM was filed in early September.


I have said this previously, referring to FDA EUA 'using' ATM, implies that it was filed in September as 'part' of a test (or tests) i.e. perhaps as a solution that's already in the test vials. So, again time will tell if ATM forms an integral part of 'antigen' tests generally, or is perhaps quite specific to a particular platform (initially as an EUA?).

[senseibull] 18/6/2021 18:47

You could say I’m sensible ;) and likewise have a good weekend

[tongosti] 18/6/2021 18:43

We have all started as a novice and there is always something new to learn in this game no matter how long one has been in this game for. I wish you well with your efforts and if you allow me one piece of advice - that would be that the one thing worth spending time on is to learn to aggressively manage risk. 99% don't (including professional portfolio managers) and that's why they end in trouble. Enjoy your weekend.

[senseibull] 18/6/2021 18:37

@tongosti

I’m still a novice but I think your opinion is correct on this one.

[tongosti] 18/6/2021 18:35

As for the number of trades the very best in the business (those who produce +300% years) trade anything from 10 to 30 times a day. I am not one of those very high number of trades guy but the point is the fact you don't get it, it means just that. That YOU don't get it!

[tongosti] 18/6/2021 18:32

That's precisely why there are so many ways to skin the cat in this game. My forte is numbers. Yours is something else. As long as it works for you I am happy that you are happy. That's what makes markets

[jacks13] 18/6/2021 17:50

I don't either, but tong does!

[senseibull] 18/6/2021 17:41

@jacks13 whoosh over my head. I get the jist but not sure how I could apply that to investing

[jacks13] 18/6/2021 16:47

Do you trade very often?

[tongosti] 18/6/2021 16:24

I don't pay attention to the usual resistance lines etc (or TA in general for that matter). It will all depend on the health of the tape instead. Example: I may not get in if we close next Monday at 86 but happier to get in at 95 a few days later instead if the tape is healthier on the latter. For me this is not about buying cheap at all costs but rather buying at the right time (when odds are overwhelming for a strong follow through). Usually I arrive at my decision (I observe my watchlist daily even though I may not get in for weeks or months unless the stars align) by putting both price and volume in a joint historical context where deviations normally exceed 5 sigmas in magnitude.

[senseibull] 18/6/2021 15:36

@tongosti

What’s your buy in past resistance price?

[tongosti] 18/6/2021 10:23

Constructive price action. Looks like it wants to break through the ceiling but not there yet. Tic toc

[wan] 18/6/2021 07:50

Given where the vast majority of Novo Holdings (wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation) investments are targeted, the following acquisition is another strong indication that the perception and understanding of diagnostics has changed and that diagnostics has entered a major growth phase -

Novo acquires BBI in £400m+ deal
17 JUNE 2021 09:27

Life sciences investor Novo Holdings has acquired BBI Group, a supplier of products and services to the global diagnostics and life sciences industries, from Exponent for an enterprise value of over £400 million.

Full story -

[shanklin] 17/6/2021 08:29

Thank you wan

[wan] 17/6/2021 08:26

Shanklin...EKF produce/supply PrimeStore MTM and also produce/supply PBS -

The collection mediums perhaps have different uses/applications. And I note that the test is also authorised for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2 in pooled samples containing up to five individual anterior nasal swab specimens per pool that are collected in individual vials containing transport medium. So this may be one such derivative.

We can only make an educated guess (that it's Amazon) based on our knowledge that EKF signed of a multi-million dollar global supply contract with a very large private sector partner. And that additional production lines for Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) was established Q1 2021 at the following EKF sites - Boerne, South Bend, Barleben and Cardiff.

[shanklin] 17/6/2021 08:12

So Amazon are dual sourcing?

[wan] 17/6/2021 08:07

For interest/clarification, Amazons FDA cleared test kit utilises 'either' PrimeStore MTM, or a Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS).

Kit assembly/source yet to be confirmed!

[wan] 17/6/2021 07:55

Potentially disruptive?

Amazon is selling its own FDA-approved COVID-19 test kit directly to consumers for $39.99 each as retail giant continues march into healthcare industry

By MANSUR SHAHEEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 18:59, 16 June 2021 | UPDATED: 19:01, 16 June 2021

Amazon is selling its own at-home COVID-19 test kit directly to consumers.

The kit, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2021, will cost $39.99.

Kits come with a swab kit and a prepaid shipping label to be returned to an Amazon lab for analysis with some kits available via one-day shipping through Prime, reported STAT News.

Results of the tests will later be available of AmazonDX.com, the companies diagnostics page.

While the pandemic nears its end, at home testing kits for COVID-19 and other viruses that can be tested for via a simple nose swab are only becoming more commonplace.

There are already other non-Amazon branded at-home COVID-19 test kits available on the online retailer, all costing around $90 to $100, more than double the price of Amazon's test.

There are also other forms of at-home testing that have risen to prominence during the pandemic, like at home colon caner screening.

Some experts are also hopeful that gains made over the past month in developing at-home tests will make at-home testing common place for even more viruses, like the common flu.

It comes as Amazon undergoes an expansion into the health care world.

Full story -

[wan] 16/6/2021 16:15

US Update -

UPDATE: June 16, 2021: Amazon's COVID-19 test, which got FDA emergency authorization in March, was originally designed for use by company employees but is now available for $39.99 to the public. Consumers use a nasal self-swab at home that is sent to a centralized lab for processing, with a website provided for viewing their results.

[wan] 16/6/2021 08:00

Obviously we already know EKF is well resourced in terms of cash and investments and cashflow, and although funding of the growth strategy has been on my mind, with today's announcement I am wondering what form, if any, it might take. Thus, an update on this aspect would be helpful, but I am sure this will feature at some point.

In any regard, I completely trust EKF's management, along with being very optimistic indeed about the growth strategy.

[wan] 14/6/2021 07:20

From SourceBio's AGM Statement this morning -

The Executive Chairman's AGM statement is produced below:

SourceBio has continued to trade well since 31 December 2020 with revenues, earnings and cash generation in the year-to-date significantly ahead of the equivalent period last year.

In relation to COVID-19 testing opportunities, the Group has moved quickly to evolve with the fast-paced and ever-changing market requirements necessary to support the ongoing testing needs in battling this pandemic. The Group remains focussed on expanding its offerings, technologies and routes to market and has also pivoted away from the heavy reliance on PCR testing for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) that initially underpinned the Infectious Disease Testing business unit. SourceBio now supports a much broader portfolio of customers with whom we are already working or who are part of our growing pipeline.

The Board is pleased with progress in the year-to-date but recognises that it expects peak levels of revenue and earnings to be generated from the anticipated high levels of travel related testing expected in the coming months. The indicated demand of such travel related testing has provided the impetus to further expand the capacity of our Nottingham laboratory. We are also pursuing additional laboratory capacity elsewhere in the UK in order to cope with the anticipated peak in demand. If the forecasted volumes of business materialise, we would expect the 2021 financial results to be materially second-half weighted.

The Group's base business lines have now all returned to pre-pandemic levels of trading. In the Healthcare Diagnostics business unit, we are pleased to report that we have seen progressive increases in the volume of Cellular Pathology business returning to us in recent months as the numbers of elective surgeries now appear to be increasing with some momentum. This business was the final offering within our three well-established business units (Healthcare Diagnostics, Genomics and Stability Storage) to return to more regular pre-COVID-19 levels of trading.

We continue our pursuit of strategically relevant, earnings enhancing acquisitions to augment the growth of our established business units and to further strengthen our capabilities and offerings to customers. The key criteria when exploring potential acquisitions will be how we can integrate these businesses into our current model to achieve accretive earnings.

The Group remains well positioned to support its customers and their requirements and we remain optimistic for the remainder of the year and beyond.

[tongosti] 11/6/2021 14:53

You haven't missed a beat chap. Share price doing still same old.

[wan] 11/6/2021 12:00

I have been somewhat tied-up with other matters of late.

The following is interesting, and the reference to point of care, appears on the face of it, to align with some of my previous thoughts -

Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics to Present at 2021 BIO Digital
June 10, 2021

BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics, an innovative molecular tool, assay and vaccine development company focused on serving unmet critical needs in both developed and developing nations, announced today that it has been selected to deliver a presentation on the past success and future opportunities for its lead product, PrimeStore MTM (Molecule Transport Medium) as well as introduce the rest of the company’s product line, at 2021 BIO Digital, the premier biotech event. BIO Digital is scheduled June 10-11 and 14-18, 2021, and presentations will be available on-demand throughout the event.

Jeff Fischer, President and Co-Founder, will present the company and PrimeStore MTM, which was the first microbial nucleic acid storage and transport device cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. PrimeStore MTM quickly inactivates viruses (including COVID-19, influenza), bacteria (including tuberculosis), and pathogens within the sample while preserving RNA and DNA for testing. The presentation will be available to registered attendees beginning at 9 a.m. ET on June 10.

“While PrimeStore MTM and the Longhorn product line is well known within the Molecular Diagnostic community, we’re looking forward to presenting PrimeStore MTM to a wider pharmaceutical and biotech audience at BIO so that attendees can see the impact that our state-of-the-art diagnostic tools have on improving the safety, sensitivity, and cost efficiency of clinical trials, point of care, and hospital testing,” said Jeff Fischer, President at Longhorn. “In the past year-and-a-half we’ve been able to demonstrate our company’s ability to deliver high volume and custom solutions directly and through our current partnerships.”

[mirandaj] 11/6/2021 08:01

Download article and read on:

"A step in the right direction

However, it’s not just vaccines, but also lab
work that’s moving away from the cold chain.
EKF Diagnostics’ PrimeStore MTM device
stabilises and preserves sample RNA for up to
seven days at ambient temperatures, allowing
it to be transported and processed outside of
containment. The device has come into its own
during the pandemic, taking pressure off labs
that do not have the capacity to refrigerate large
volumes of Covid-19 test samples onsite. It also
reduces time and cost constraints for transportation
because samples can be sent via the postal system
rather than requiring specialist couriers........"

[tongosti] 09/6/2021 16:49

Only a breakout north of 80 on huge volumes is the answer to your question. That's the only way one can be (reasonably) sure the market is playing ball.