Ekf Diagnostics Share Discussion Threads

[wan] 23/5/2020 08:15

Mr Dexy...Thanks. Yes, because there is more than a subtle difference between certain transport medias. Viral transport media (VTM) and Universal transport media (UTM) keep the viral material intact, whereas the Primestore MTM (molecular transport media) is the only transport media where the virus is inactivated at the point of collection.

In the US the CDC guidelines currently recommend samples suspected of containing SARS-CoV-2 e.g. samples in VTM and UTM, be inactivated in a biological safety cabinet.

Hence, using the Primestore MTM there is no potential hazard, either in the transport process or once the sample gets to the laboratory, therefore simplifying and streamlining the whole process, including the test workflow. And opening up capacity in more testing laboratories.

The sample collected in the Primestore MTM is also stable at room temperature for up to 28 days, which also makes the logistics and handling less demanding with no cold chain logistics required. CDC guidelines states - Store specimens at 2-8°C for up to 72 hours after collection. If a delay in testing or shipping is expected, store specimens at -70°C or below.

Apparently, the inactivation component also inactivates other enzymes and proteins that degrade nucleic acids, resulting in improved sensitivity in molecular tests, which must be another attractive attribute when being considered for pairing with a test manufacturer.

[mr dexy] 22/5/2020 16:03

Hi All,

Anyone know if this is the Primestore MTM ?



"Source BioScience is processing tests in 14 hours on average, but that doesn't include the time it takes to get patient swabs to the lab. The company hopes the process will be sped up by a solution that "deactivates" COVID-19, and makes tests easier to transport. They believe they are the first in the country to use the 'transport medium', which could be "revolutionary" for scaling up testing and getting results back faster.....

Director of healthcare diagnostics at Source BioScience Neil Ryan said: "You need to know the result straight away because once you've taken that test within 12 hours your result might be different if you've come into contact with somebody… the transport medium takes an element of the processing out of the initial set up.

"Not only can we transport the virus at room temperature, which makes it far easier to get it in a courier up and down the motorway, it also deactivates the virus at the point the sample is put in the transport media that makes it a much safer environment for our staff handling it."

Regards to all


Mr D

[like2share] 21/5/2020 13:12

Anybody care to share their target price?

[wan] 20/5/2020 10:36

Other unfortunate news highlights something I alluded to previously, that EKF's analysers are well placed to assist in the support efforts, excerpts follow -

Coronavirus: Diabetic people offered support
By Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online
20th May 2020

People with diabetes are being offered help and support as a study reveals some people with the condition may be at higher risk if they catch coronavirus.

Although the threat of coronavirus is still low for most diabetic people, diabetes was linked to a third of virus deaths in England from 1 March to 11 May, NHS England research shows.

High blood sugar levels and obesity add to the risk.

But age is a bigger risk factor.

People with type 1 or 2 diabetes are strongly advised to follow the government's coronavirus advice.

Data shows:

Between 1 March and 11 May, there were 23,804 coronavirus-related deaths in hospitals in England

7,466 of the deceased had type 2 diabetes (which affects mostly adults) and 365 had type 1 diabetes (which most often develops in childhood)

Other risk factors along with diabetes need to be taken into account

When all known factors are taken into account, higher blood glucose levels and obesity are linked to higher risk

In both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, men, people of black or Asian ethnicity, and people living in more deprived communities, were at higher risk

In both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, those with pre-existing kidney disease, heart failure and previous stroke, were also at higher risk

Doctors say if you are concerned about your diabetes during the coronavirus pandemic:

Contact your GP practice or diabetes team

If you have diabetes and have been contacted by your specialist eye or foot care team, please go to your appointments to receive treatment to avoid these problems getting worse. Clinics are taking extra protective measures to keep people safe

The 4Ts - toilet, thirsty, tired and thinner - are signs of a life-threatening diabetic emergency, diabetic ketoacidosis or DKA. If you recognise these signs, seek urgent medical advice from your GP Practice (or 111 out of hours); if you already have diabetes, contact your diabetes team; or if you feel very unwell, call 999

If you have diabetes and see a cut or blister on your foot, it may be a sign of a foot ulcer. Call your GP practice to get it checked as soon as possible. If you do have an ulcer or other serious foot problem, you will be referred to see a specialist urgently

Full story -


This type of support will also be relevant in the US. And as I highlighted previously, HBA1c testing will have an important, if not increasingly important, part to play. And I would draw investors attention to the 4T's above and in particular diabetic ketoacidosis or DKA and the fact that EKF launched their FDA CLIA-waived β-ketone and glucose POC analyzer to U.S. market.

Diabetic patients with abnormally high levels of βHB are at risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). βHB is the predominant ketone body present in the blood during DKA. For this reason it is a more appropriate test than traditional nitroprusside reaction urine tests that do not measure βHB.

The STAT-Site® WB analyzer uses two different strips to provide results in just 10 seconds for β-ketones and 5 seconds for glucose allowing for clear and comprehensive management of diabetes patients displaying early signs of DKA to be quickly treated and then monitored on a regular basis.

STAT-Site® WB Analyzer launch announcement -

[opener] 20/5/2020 10:23

The EKF holding in RENX was worth 16.8p a share at 364p for RENX. Today that holding could be worth c19p to EKF? More research needed

[wan] 20/5/2020 09:19

I assume EKF investors will no doubt be aware of today's Renalytix news regarding a new joint venture for scaled production of COVID-19 antibody test kits.

Food for thought, I have been wondering who else might get the contract for the manufacturing/assembly element of the new test?

[tallprawn] 15/5/2020 10:25

I can see EKF following a similar trajectory to BVC over the next few sessions.It's a similar share that has been range-bound for a longtime which is about to see a material breakout. I'm expecting a move up to 60p-70p over the next few weeks. Good luck all.

[wan] 15/5/2020 08:37

Another unfortunate (fortunate for EKF) is that I also think there will be a resurgence and possibly an increased rationale in other testing regimes (that do not include utilising PrimeStore MTM ) and in certain at risk groups such as being over weight or from an ethnicity perspective, with diabetes control being one such example e.g. HBA1c (see recent distribution agreement below) and EKF's new CLIA waived POC analyser -

EKF launches FDA CLIA-waived β-ketone and glucose POC analyzer to U.S. market


EKF & Tosoh Europe N.V. distribution agreement expands HbA1c POC testing reach in Middle East & Africa -



Some unfortunate stats -

Quarter of Covid-19 deaths in English hospitals were of diabetics
NHS’s first breakdown of underlying health conditions also finds 18% had dementia

Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Thu 14 May 2020

“The fact that more than a quarter of people who have died with Covid-19 have diabetes underlines the urgent need to ensure better protection and extra support is available to those in the clinically vulnerable groups,” said Bridget Turner, director of policy at the charity Diabetes UK.

More research is needed to understand why diabetes heightens the risk of death from Covid, she said. “But until we know more, people living with diabetes should be supported to manage their condition, attend appointments as normal either online or in person at Covid-protected sites and, most importantly, should continue to have access to their local clinical team if they have concerns,” she said.

Full story -

[bubbleandleek] 15/5/2020 07:51

wow, just wow. this is the wrong price... big upgrades, and talking of increased capacity which i can only suggest means bigger orders coming. the recurring monthly revenue is only going one way and profits are soaring. great news

[wan] 15/5/2020 07:37

Faz...Agree that there's an underlying rotten reason, but the wake-up call from this pandemic means testing will prevail for a long time, and it will very likely be a reality that we maintain a high level of preparedness for future pandemics, in terms of stock and manufacturing capacity.

Also, EKF are efficiently firing on other cylinders too.

[tez123] 15/5/2020 07:18

Great smashing super fab, that's the bullseye.

[faz] 15/5/2020 07:14

you rarely post emotionally wan- but this is a fabulous update albeit for a rotten reason. However, if we are going to over come this disease it needs companies like EKF to perform. AVCT has a good update out today too.

[wan] 15/5/2020 07:07

What an absolutely cracking update!

The additional contribution now indicated for June under the Longhorn manufacturing contract means that the Company expects to further exceed the overall management budgets for H1 2020 more confidently than was noted on 27 April.

In these circumstances, the Board expects the second half of the year will see continued momentum and the full year results will exceed, perhaps considerably, its recently upgraded expectations.

[mr dexy] 13/5/2020 15:25

Hi All,

Team for new production line in place it seems....



Would we expect an RNS to confirm production has started?

Regards to all


Mr D

[like2share] 12/5/2020 07:49

EKF is one my main shares and a buy on dips is my strategy, since it is still largely under the radar.

[meijiman] 11/5/2020 09:41

I'm very positive as to both company's prospects.....

[wan] 11/5/2020 09:00

I read it, and that is not a stated fact in their release this morning. Given that the partners have not completed the analytical and clinical validation of the test, you will have to wait, but it is unlikely that a POCT would deliver accuracy of 100%.

Plus , in the US the CDC guidance requires potential SARS-CoV-2 samples not inactivated to be handled in a Biological Safety Cabinet. So I am not sure how this will fit in with the POC setting.

In any regard, I wish Avacta all the best, and I am sure if they get it to work, they will not be the only British success!

[meijiman] 11/5/2020 08:32

wan..have a read of the RNS from Avacta this morning. Their goal is 100% accuracy from saliva via affimers.

[like2share] 11/5/2020 06:37

Testing, Testing and Testing is very important. We have US and UK Covid19 Contracts already and look forward to updates on both this month GLA.

[wan] 10/5/2020 09:38

The short answer is no!

A PCR test requires a throat or nasal swab, an antibody test requires a blood sample and a point of care antigen test requires saliva.

Whilst the ease of use and speed of point of care antigen tests from saliva make them attractive, their lack of reliability/sensitivity does not.

The (much) longer answer is there will be the room and indeed the rationale for all types of testing, especially under the mass testing regime that is being put into place globally!

Point of care (POC) antigen tests, on their own, are not going to provide the accuracy required (and many in development will never make it out of R&D or fail to live up to expectations). Put another way, if you get tested at point of care via an antigen saliva test, it is likely that for confirmation a follow-up laboratory PCR test will be requested, which is far more accurate. And then (if you survive) a blood test to see if you have developed immunity (see below).

The blood tests are different and detect antibodies and come under serology tests. These blood tests are used to identify antibodies generated by an individual’s immune system to fight SARS-CoV-2. The key difference between the PCR test/antigen test and the serology tests is that the PCR/antigen test can only detect active infections i.e. you are currently infected, whereas the antibody blood test confirm if you have 'had' COVID-19 and therefore that you are likely to have immunity.

Serology testing can also tell how much of the population has been infected overall, but all testing types are likely to play their part in gaining a more accurate representation of the pandemic's overall impact.

[cokehookerscars] 09/5/2020 19:32

Won't blood testing be superseded in the vast amount of (Covid-19) applications by a saliva test which takes 5 minutes to get the result from ?

Look at Avacta for example.


I am long EKF and Avacta at the moment.

[pldazzle] 06/5/2020 18:16

like2share #115 - Jay LeCoque's name rang a bell. Sure enough, Carl Contadini, now a nonexec director of EKF, was his direct contemporary on the board of Celsis (in which I was a shareholder) from 2010 until taken over in 2015.

[faz] 06/5/2020 16:13

Ah sorry yes it's there, wan. Long time no post for me! I first bought into EKF way back - my partner's moniker on here is Silverfern and I used her account to create the first EKF thread. It was BBI and IDH people coming in to create the company that stirred my interest. I got out (pure luck in timing)at 40p in 2014, but reinvested recently and now own over 100k shares. GLA! as they say

[wan] 06/5/2020 16:02

Faz, EKF announced it, please see first link in post 110