Applied DNA Sciences (NYSE: APDN) stock price jumped more than 80% in premarket trading on Thursday as the company received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 assay kit.
The device, called Linea, has the capacity to process 94 samples in an hour with the potential of running above 2,000 tests per day, and can be used by certified labs.
The test can be used with nasal swabs, nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs, nasopharyngeal wash, or nasal aspirates to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the firm said.
“We believe we have developed an assay with numerous commercial advantages over other emergency use authorization approved COVID-19 detections assays. We developed the Linea COVID-19 assay kit for high-throughput operations where rapid high-volume testing is requisite.” said the firm’s director of diagnostic regulatory affairs Dr Mohan Chellani.
Applied DNA Sciences stock price has already gained 120% of value in the last month alone amid its focus on developing a diagnostic kit.
The latest price jump in pre-market trading has pushed its stock price into a double-digit figure for the first time since the beginning of this year, but the stock trading price is still down significantly from its 52-weeks high of $33. Its shares traded in the range of $33 to $2.52 over the last 52-weeks. Shares jumped 55% to £13.80 when US markets opened for normal trading on Thursday morning.
Clinical laboratories that are certified under Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments across the US are eligible to perform this high complexity test.
Applied DNA Sciences stand among the nano-cap stocks with the market capitalization of only $31m. It works on molecular technologies with bases across the US, Asia, and Europe.
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