• Thinly traded nano cap Aytu BioScience (NASDAQ:AYTU) jumps 322% premarket on robust volume in reaction to its license agreement with L.B. Resources Limited for the exclusive distribution of a point-of-care rapid test for COVID-19 IgG/IgM antibodies in the U.S. for three years with three-year auto-renewals thereafter.
  • Aytu plans to discuss a regulatory pathway with the FDA and near-term availability under Emergency Use Authorization. It expects to receive an initial supply of product in three-to-four weeks.
  • Financial terms are not disclosed.
  • Results from the CE Mark’d immunochromatographic assay can be generated in 2-10 minutes from serum/plasma/whole blood samples. No equipment is needed. In this case, it detects the presence of IgG antibodies (indicating past exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus) and IgM antibodies (indicating recent exposure to the virus). The test does not differentiate between the two (just confirms exposure).
  • An immunochromatography assay, or lateral flow test, combines chromatography and immunochemical reactions. The most common of this type of system is the test strip which generates results as a colored band on a membrane (visual interpretation).