Shooting the breeze on ADO, page-4455

Not if we simplify ADO technology to double sided sticky tape.



Chief executive officer: Derek Thomson
Board: Dr Jack Hamilton (chairman), Dr Geoff Cumming, Christopher Parker, (Matt Sanderson resigned on April 22, 2021
Financials (December 2020 half year): revenue of $600,000 (up 550%), cash outflows $1.46 million (previously $1.1 million outflows), cash of $6.43 million (up 100%)
Main shareholders: Levenson Investments 5.2%, First Cape Management 3.1%, Marcolongo super fund 2.8%, Fossil Super Pty Ltd 1.9%
Anteotech chief Derek Thomson admits there is no shortage of Covid-19 tests out there, which poses the question of why the ‘surface chemistry’ outfit is joining the aspiring entrants at a time when vaccination programs are being rolled out in earnest (except here, of course).
Mr Thomson argues the testing market can’t be seen as an amorphous mass. Clinical testing for Covid-19 might peak - it hasn’t yet - but the screening market will only grow as borders re-open and mass gatherings return.
‘Double-sided sticky tape’
Anteotech makes lateral flow immunoassays, which are simple devices aimed at detecting a pathogen in a liquid sample without the need for costly lab equipment.
A non-technology person, Mr Thomson explains the underlying nano-polymer product, Anteobind, as “double-sided sticky tape”.
Thanks, Derek!
He says a particle surface is usually unstable and that’s especially the case for Europium, the element at the heart of the test.
“Europium is a highly sensitive fluorescent element,” Mr Thomson says. “When shone under [ultra violet] light, the antigen lights up like a Christmas tree, there’s absolutely no doubt you are positive.”
But an effective test depends on the antigen being ‘captured’ and the unstable Europium particles don’t do this well.
“So, you need a double sided ‘sticky tape’, one side to stick to the particle and the other to stick to the antigen.”
The enhanced particle stability also means the tests are reproducible and thus can be mass manufactured. In the case of Ellume, the addition of Anteobind gave them the ability to replicate the data dot technology, hitherto only achievable in the lab.