Shares in Diasorin surge ahead of launch of diagnostic test for coronavirus

Reuters
·1 min read

MILAN, March 10 (Reuters) - Shares in Diasorin surged over 13% on Tuesday after the Italian diagnostic specialist said it had completed the studies to support the launch of a new molecular test to quickly identify the new coronavirus.

More than 114,300 people have been infected by the coronavirus across the world and 4,026 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

With a total number of cases of 9,172, Italy is the European country hardest hit by the outbreak of the virus in Europe. The death toll in the country rose to 463, the Civil Protection Agency said on Monday.

The test developed by Diasorin enables sample-to-answer results within 60 minutes instead of the 5-7 hours currently needed to report patient results, the company said in a statement.

The new product is expected to be launched in Europe with a CE marking, which certifies the conformity to European standards, and submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of March.

By 0924, Italy's blue-chip index rose 2.93%, partially rebounding after a 11% fall on Monday.

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Louise Heavens)