Completion of Technical Transfer to full-scale manufacture and initial orders for Vatic KnowNowTM test
Tests manufactured by Abingdon now authorised for sale
York, U.K. 5 April 2022: Abingdon Health plc (AIM: ABDX), a leading international developer and manufacturer of high quality and effective rapid tests, announces it has successfully completed the technical transfer of the Vatic KnowNowáµ€ test (Spike Test in USA) on behalf of its customer, leading diagnostics technology innovator Vatic Health Limited (“Vatic”), on schedule. This follows the conclusion of the scale-up and manufacture of three independent production-scale batches and Vatic has now approved the sale of tests manufactured by Abingdon. Abingdon has received initial purchase orders from Vatic for commercial sale, and manufacturing for these orders will now commence.
The Vatic KnowNowáµ€ test is an easy-to-use saliva COVID-19 antigen test, which is the only test that identifies the virus by mimicking the surface of a human cell. This means the test only identifies “live” or “active” copies of the virus which are capable of cell entry and thereby infecting a human cell. Other tests, such as PCR and lateral flow antigen tests, can pick up harmless viral fragments with the potential for users to test positive once they are no longer infectious. Furthermore, the unique detection mechanism of the KnowNowáµ€ test has been purposefully designed to be more robust to mutation than traditional antigen tests, making it more future-proofed for ongoing COVID-19 testing. Vatic have previously announced that this test detects variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus including the Omicron variant.
The test is CE marked for professional use and has been submitted by Vatic to the US FDA for Emergency Use Approval (EUA).
Alex Sheppard, CEO of Vatic Health Limited, commented:
“We are excited to have concluded the transfer of our product to manufacture with Abingdon and to commence sales of our product. Our proprietary technology allows ease of use via a saliva specimen and only detects active virus -enabling individuals to know their infectivity status.”
Dr Mona K. Omir, CTO of Vatic Health Limited, commented:
“Completing the Technical Transfer of the KnowNow test is a huge milestone in the Vatic Health journey and our ongoing collaboration with Abingdon Health. To bring such novel assay technology into routine manufacturing could be a true step change in diagnostics and we are excited for what this could mean for COVID-19 testing around the world.”
Chris Yates, CEO of Abingdon Health plc, commented:
“We are delighted to have concluded this technical transfer and to begin manufacture of the product for Vatic at our Yorkshire facilities. This is an important addition to the COVID-19 testing toolbox and we look forward to continuing to work with Vatic as we manufacture the product to fulfil their requirements.”
Enquiries:
Abingdon Health plc
www.abingdonhealth.com/investors/
Chris Yates, Chief Executive Officer
Via Walbrook PR
Melanie Ross, Chief Financial Officer
Dr Chris Hand, Non-Executive Chairman
About Abingdon Health plc
Abingdon Health is a world leading developer and manufacturer of high-quality rapid tests across all industry sectors, including healthcare and COVID-19. Abingdon is the partner of choice for a growing global customer base and takes projects from initial concept through to routine and large-scale manufacturing and has also developed and marketed its own labelled tests.
The Company offers product development, regulatory support, technology transfer and manufacturing services for customers looking to develop new assays or transfer existing laboratory-based assays to a lateral flow format. Abingdon Health aims to support the increase in need for rapid results across many industries and locations and produces lateral flow tests in areas such as infectious disease, clinical testing including companion diagnostics, animal health and environmental testing. Faster access to results allows for rapid decision making, targeted intervention and can support better outcomes. This ability has a significant role to play in improving life across the world. To support this aim Abingdon Health has also developed AppDx®, a customisable image capturing technology that transforms a smartphone into a self-sufficient, standalone lateral-flow reader.
Founded in 2008, Abingdon Health is headquartered in York, England.
