Open Orphan  (ORPH ) has announced an exclusive contract with Quotient to support COVID-19 antibody testing in the UK.

The MosaiQ™ and MosaiQ COVID-19 Antibody Microarray systems by Quotient will be used by hVIVO to screen for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (COVID-19).

The MosaiQ COVID-19 Antibody Microarray was CE-marked as of 01 May 2020 based on testing that demonstrated 100% sensitivity to detect COVID-19 antibodies and 99.8% specificity to rule out the presence of COVID-19 antibodies.

The test is designed as a serological disease screen specific to COVID-19 and detects the IgG and IgM antibodies that humans develop when infected by SARS-CoV-2.

Quotient is a Nasdaq-listed, commercial-stage diagnostics company delivering diagnostic solutions.

MosaiQ is Quotient's proprietary multiplex microarray technology, offering the world's first fully automated, consolidated testing platform, allowing for multiple tests across different modalities.

Shares in Open Orphan have traded strongly since 12-mnth lows in March 2020 of 4.5p to open up 20% today at 12.7p.

Cathal Friel, Executive Chairman of Open Orphan, said: "We are delighted to exclusively partner with Quotient Limited to bring fast and accurate COVID-19 antibody testing to the UK.

Open Orphan plc, via our subsidiary hVIVO, has industry leading scientific and laboratory capability and the MosaiQ™ system's best in class COVID-19 antibody testing performance makes the system a natural addition to our state-of-the-art virology laboratory in London.

There is a clear demand for COVID-19 antibody testing and we will be making testing available both as a standalone offering and will also utilize the testing capability to screen volunteers for our industry leading range of human challenge studies to ensure no disruption to our clients."

Franz Walt, Chief Executive Officer of Quotient, said: "This collaboration marks a major milestone for our company, and we are proud to collaborate with an industry leader like hVIVO. Quotient has developed what we believe is a gold standard antibody microarray to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“This collaboration is uniquely positioned to leverage our combined expertise and helps address the large need for antibody testing in the U.K. and beyond." said Franz Walt, Chief Executive Officer of Quotient.