In an unrated note published in a question and answer format on Dec 14, PhillipCapital’s research team spoke to Biolidics on the company’s recent developments on its SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test Kit and other Covid-19 test kits.
In March 2020, the Singapore-based medical technology company launched its IgC/IgM antibody test kit for Covid-19.
On Nov 26, the company announced that it entered into a distribution agreement with Chinese biotech company JOYSBIO for its antigen rapid test kits for Covid-19 (called Colloidal Gold).
Why different Covid-19 test kits are required for the different stages of Covid-19
According to the Biolidics team, antibody tests and antigen tests are beneficial for their ability to produce test results quickly and at lower costs as compared to the more expensive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests which take between one to two days to produce test results.
“If a person is asymptomatic to Covid-19 and thereafter recovers from Covid-19, the PCR and antigen tests will return a negative result, but an antibody test would return a positive result,” says the team.
“This is particularly important as vaccination to Covid-19 is to protect people against Covid-19 before they encounter the virus. Vaccination uses your body’s natural defence (aka immune system) to build resistance to the infection of Covid-19 virus. Vaccines train your immune system to make antibodies and/or elicit T-cell response. After a vaccination is done, antibody tests and NAB tests are recommended to assess if a person’s immune system has produced the antibody,” it adds.
See: Singapore firm Biolidics to launch rapid test kit to detect Covid-19 within 10 minutes
All vaccines, no matter which type, train your body’s immune system to produce antibodies. Biolidics’ antibody tests and NAB tests are therefore suitable for monitoring the duration of the immune response, says PhillipCapital. In addition, NAB tests could be used to monitor the level and duration of “protective immunity”.
There are two key advantages of an antigen test over a PCR test. Antigen tests provide results in minutes, as compared to hours required generally for a PCR test, hence it provides a quick turnaround time to identify the SARS-COV-2 infection during the acute infectious phase.
Antigen test does not require laboratory or specialised equipment for processing, hence the costs are much lower for antigen test as compared to PCR test.
However, the antigen test is less sensitive than PCR test. For the JOYSBIO Antigen Rapid Test Kit distributed by Biolidics, the overall combined clinical sensitivity is 93.9%, and specificity is 98.9% on the basis of two clinical studies carried in China and Italy.
Authorisation and sale
The Antigen Rapid Test Kit has received Provisional Authorisation by the Health Sciences Authority in Singapore.
While the JOYSBIO Antigen Rapid Test Kit has received the Provisional Authorisation from HSA, the sale of this antigen rapid test kit is still subjected to the approval by the respective health authorities in the regional countries, notes PhillipCapital.
Under the terms of the JOYSBIO Agreement, Biolidicshas been appointed as the non-exclusive worldwide distributor of the JOYSBIO Antigen Rapid Test Kit for a duration of one year from the date of the JOYSBIO Agreement.
In addition, under the terms of the JOYSBIO Agreement, among others, the Company shall automatically become the exclusive distributor of the JOYSBIO Antigen Rapid Test Kit in Singapore and the Philippines if the number of kits ordered by Biolidics reaches 100,000 units within 90 calendar days in Singapore and 1,000,000 units within 180 calendar days in the Philippines, from the date of the JOYSBIO agreement, respectively.
As at 3.30pm, shares in Biolidics are trading 1 cent lower, or 3.23% down, at 30.0 cents.
