Fail a few times and you realise that it’s probably best to just call it quits. Surface chemistry company Anteotech (ASX: ADO) took a few more hits before it realised that it had to call time of death on its EuGeni SARS-CoV-2 Ag RDT1 European clinical trial. After spending millions on these trials, the Company has decided to “refocus” its initiatives and go, hopefully, where the money lies.

The Company has decided to halt its Covid testing trials and divert resources and funding, amounting to over $700k, to enable the acceleration of the COVID19 Flu A/Flu B Multiplex and/or other Point of Care (POC) tests currently being considered by AnteoTech’s New Product Council.

Anteotech’s quarter finances revealed that the Company had spent over $3 million on its operations, while it received only $230k from customers. As per its report, the decreasing significance is being placed on Common List requirements for sales into European countries, with the EU Digital COVID Certificate regulation that supports the Common List expected to expire on 30 June 2023. As the world slowly moves on from (or rather, with) Covid-19, Anteotech’s efforts on testing might be better served elsewhere. For instance, there is increasing support and focus from health authorities, including the World Health Organisation, on Combo COVID-19 Flu A/Flu B testing.

Another area worth exploring for the Company is sepsis testing. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker released by the body in response to bacterial infection and is used to diagnose sepsis, a life-threatening infection. PCT is not elevated in viral infections or autoimmune disorders. A Point-of-Care PCT test can take around 30 minutes (whereas full blood cultures can take 24 hours) to detect the infection. No doubt, the need for Sepsis testing remains strong, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for early identification and treatment and has reinforced the value of POC testing, which is where Anteotech will be focusing its efforts now.

The Company faced a challenging and changing Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) regulatory environment in Australia and Europe. Although difficult at the time, these challenges helped the Company continue developing the EuGeni product offering, refine manufacturing processes and expand the team, adding significant commercial and technical capabilities. Throughout the development of its EuGeni testing platform, the Company underwent many changes, with two new directors joining the board in September, and a new Chairman joining in April, and two new specialist Advisory Boards established to support product development and commercialisation.

Despite these developments, in 2022, the Company reported a loss of over $70k from its EuGeni Readers. Over the year, its cash at bank has declined to about $10 million from over $21 million in 2021. It has spent $1.4 million on EuGeni Reader equipment, property and production. Overall, Anteotech reported a loss of $10.7 million in 2022.

Clearly, it was about time the Company refocused its efforts. However, it appears that Anteotech will not be giving up on its EuGeni readers, as they are also used to perform the COVID19 Flu A/Flu B Multiplex tests. Will the reader’s multipurposeness drive profits or a sense of deja vu for the Company?