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Atomo Diagnostics is backed by billionaire developer Lang Walker and former Macquarie bank boss Alan Moss and the company is in the middle of an IPO to raise $30 million at 20 cents a share.The hype is based on the company’s blood test platform which it originally developed for HIV testing and has been approved in Australia and Europe as a self-test for the disease.Within the last month, however, it’s suddenly been turned into a potential self-test for COVID-19 and while it hasn’t received approval yet, Kelly believes it should and will be.Currently, testing for COVID-19 involves a nasal swab to detect viral RNA – fragments of DNA of live virus in a patient. Kelly mentioned in his interview with Kohler however, how testing for the virus can be improved.“It takes quite a bit of preparation and quite a bit of turnaround time, it also requires some fairly sophisticated lab equipment which limits the amount of testing that can be done and as more people look to test, those waiting times are starting to push out,” he said.Atomo’s rapid tests on the other hand, measure the presence of antibodies in patients that have been exposed to COVID-19, the biggest advantage is results can be turned around within 10 to 15 minutes as opposed to a number of days.All that is needed to change from the already approved HIV test would be to replace the HIV strip in the device with a COVID-19 strip, so the device usability, safety and instructions for use are equally applicable to the COVID-19 test.The product has piqued the interest of four diagnostic companies in China, Europe and the US, which have all signed varying early documentation and according to Kelly, things are moving very quickly.Currently, the HIV self-test kits which the COVID-19 tests would be based off, are sold directly to the Australian public for $20 a kit and the plan is to replicate this model should they receive approval for the COVID-19 test (price may vary).Outside of Australia however, Atomo sells to other diagnostic companies or directly to distributors who then sell the finished product to consumers.While the current volume capacity of the self-test kits is around 3 million units per annum, Kelly says the company is looking to bring that number up to 6 million by August and 10 million by the end of this year.He estimates that could bring in between $20 to $50 million worth of revenue depending on “the product mix, where the devices were going and what percentage HIV accounted for versus COVID-19 versus other customers.”The ‘other customers’ applies because currently, Atomo operates across markets outside HIV testing including pregnancy testing and screening for viral vs bacterial infections.It places Atomo Diagnostic’s in an intriguing position given the opportunities that COVID-19 has opened up for the company, but Kelly ensured on his interview with Kohler that the company wouldn’t take advantage of the situation.“In theory, if you looked at normal price elasticity that would suggest that we could very substantially increase the price, but I don’t think we want to be seen to be price gouging on something of this level of severity,” he told Eureka Report.“I think we will be able to generate a good margin; we’re certainly not looking to take advantage of that. We’re an impact focused business and we want to make sure that our business dealings are sustainable and ethical, and I think that’s the right thing to do.”
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