What Trinity Bio Brings to the Fight Against COVID-19

Health and Healthcare

Published: March 31, 2020 11:01 am

Trinity Biotech PLC (NASDAQ: TRIB) released its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results on Tuesday morning, but that wasn’t what propelled the stock afterward. The company also provided an update on what it is doing to fight COVID-19, which could be huge.

The company announced that it has been working on the development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test for the detection of antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 in human blood samples. This test will determine which members of the population have had COVID-19 and are therefore now immune and consequently can safely go back to work and be exposed to the virus, such as health care workers.

This test also will have utility in monitoring the effectiveness of vaccination programs as vaccines become available. The product, which is substantially complete, is being transferred into manufacturing with a significant production capacity.

Additionally, Trinity is developing a rapid point-of-care COVID-19 test to detect antibodies to the virus that can be run in 12 minutes using one drop of blood procured by finger prick. The utility of this test is similar to that outlined above for the ELISA test. Management expects to complete development of this rapid test within the next two months.

CEO Ronan O’Caoimh commented:

Trinity is pleased to be announcing today that it is close to completing the development of an ELISA test for the detection of antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19. This will be followed by a Rapid antibody test soon thereafter. These tests will be launched in all of our major markets in an expedited manner by availing of emergency regulatory pathways.

Shares of Trinity Biotech traded up about 50% to $1.22 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $0.56 to $3.22. The consensus price target is $6.00.