Scots life sciences firm Omega upbeat on Covid self-test kit progress

Scottish life sciences firm Omega Diagnostics was given a share lift after a positive update on a coronavirus rapid test kit.

Omega Diagnostics has pointed to substantial growth opportunities in the areas of food intolerance, CD4 testing for the management of people living with HIV, and Covid-19 antibody and antigen testing.

A consortium which is led by Abingdon Health and that includes Omega, which is based in Alva, Clackmannanshire, is working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve the lateral flow antibody test.

In its update, Abingdon said that while it continued to liaise with the MHRA regarding approval for home use and self-test of the AbC-19 Rapid Test for antibodies, it was liaising with regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions around the world to allow the use of the product.

Colin King, chief executive of Omega Diagnostics, said: “We welcome the update from Abingdon Health and we look forward to being able to update investors on this approval process for self-test use in due course.

“We remain confident that the AbC-19 Rapid Test has a potential global application and we are delighted that the UK-RTC maintains constructive dialogue with interested customers and regulatory authorities across the world.”

At the end of November, Omega reported a 29 per cent fall in first-half revenue to £3.16 million. Gross margin decreased to 42.9 per cent from 67.5 per cent a year earlier, reflecting the fixed nature of labour costs on reduced sales.

However, bosses pointed to “substantial” growth opportunities in the areas of food intolerance, CD4 testing for the management of people living with HIV, and Covid-19 antibody and antigen testing. The firm provides in-vitro diagnostics products for use in hospitals, clinics, laboratories and healthcare practices in some 75 countries.

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