ClearStar (AIM: CLSU)  said it has launched a Covid-19 testing service to support employers returning to work and workplace safety through its Medical Information Services business.

The employee and medical screening specialist said employees will receive a CRL Clear™ kit, a finger prick test which identifies if a person has been previously infected with the virus.

The CRL Clear™ kit is based on the Roche Elecsys® anti-Covid-19 antibody test, which has received the CE mark and US Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorisation.

If an employee tests positive for having had Covid-19, they will receive the CRL Clear™ kit, a saliva-based molecular diagnostic test which can determine if the virus is still active.

Those testing positive, meaning they are currently infected with Covid-19, will automatically be contacted by a licensed doctor to discuss the results and next steps the group said.

The test will be provided through Clinical Reference Laboratory, one of the largest privately owned clinical testing laboratories in the US which offers both antibody and diagnostic testing.

Shares in ClearStar were trading 17.56% higher at 48.2p on Thursday morning.

From 1st June, any ClearStar client will be able to access this solution, using the same process as their existing drug and clinical screening programmes.

Test results are to be reported via the group's platform within 24 hours of samples being received by the Clinical Reference Laboratory in the US.

"Balancing the equally important goals of getting people back to work and ensuring their safety and well-being is top priority for employers,” said Robert Vale, CEO of ClearStar.

“The delicate balance between recovery and safety is being addressed by business worldwide,” said analysts at house broker, finnCap,  in a research note this morning.

The broker said the testing service will be “an immediate and welcome revenue boost” for the group’s Medical Information Services but will also attract new customers to ClearStar.

finnCap said Clearstar’s offering should see “huge demand” given that testing will be an important aid to restarting economic activity across the world.

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