Novacyt AIM:NCYT ) has signed a supply contract with the UK's Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) for its product aimed at testing for the presence of coronavirus.
The international clinical diagnostics specialist said it will supply its COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test to the DHSC for an initial term of six months, starting from 4 May 2020.
Novacyt has initially committed to supply 288,000 tests per week to the DHSC for use in the NHS, with the option to expand the agreement.
The partnership reinforces Novacyt's existing support of the UK government's five pillar plan to increase testing for COVID-19 across the country.
Shares in Novacyt were trading 9.46% higher at 405p during Monday morning.
“Novacyt is committed to fighting the global COVID-19 pandemic,” said Graham Mullis, Chief Executive Officer of Novacyt.
He added, “This partnership with the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care reinforces Novacyt’s position as a leading supplier of COVID-19 tests to the NHS.”
The contract announced this morning is in addition to the company’s collaboration with AstraZeneca, GSK and the University of Cambridge as announced on 8 April 2020.
The group added that it remains committed to ensure an effective workflow process within the facility for COVID-19 testing, as well as provide its COVID-19 test to generate results data.
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 2.96 million people and killed at least 206,265 people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.Follow News & Updates from Novacyt here:
Novacyt is also included in the Vox Covid-19 Crusaders index.