With ‘Rapid Antigen Test’ having only taken several days to likely be one of the most commonly used words of 2022, everyone is looking for them but demand is monumentally outweighing supply. With their surge in use, it may only be a matter of time until Australian regulators fast-track approval of more RAT manufacturers with some listed on the ASX yet to receive approvals for sale in Australia, so selling them overseas instead. 

Since they commenced approving RATs for sale in Australia, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved 18 Rapid Antigen Tests.

Of those, 12 are manufactured by Chinese companies, 2 from the United States, 1 from Singapore, 1 from South Korea, 1 from Germany and just 1 from Australia. 

There are of course many other manufacturers around the world that can help alleviate Australia’s supply problem having secured regulatory approvals overseas but are subject to the TGA’s slow approvals process. 

Lumos Diagnostics (ASX: LDX)
Lumos has recently secured regulatory approval in Canada for the sale of their CoviDx™ SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test which can return a patient’s result within 20 minutes from a viral swab.

Canadian health companies quickly hit up Lumos with $350,000 in orders shortly after. 

Atomo Diagnostics (ASX: AT1)
Atomo has been in the business of rapid antigen tests well before the onset of COVID-19 with their rapid test kits having previously focused on testing for HIV. 

But with the technology and manufacturing capability already in place, Atomo pivoted towards COVID where they are currently undertaking the TGA approvals process. Through their partners, Atomo has secured supply of up to 20 million antigen tests during FY22 and FY23. 

The sale of these is still subject to TGA approvals. 

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While the regulatory approvals process may be a slow one, a slew of false positives have highlighted why the TGA will not loosen their application requirements. 

If you’re one of the many that don’t trust Rapid Antigen Tests but still want exposure to the uptick in testing for COVID, Australian Clinical Labs (ASX: ACL) recently upgraded their profit guidance.

“We anticipate heightened volumes of COVID-19 testing to continue during the remainder of FY22 due to the impact of new variants and outbreaks, the lifting of travel restrictions and increased demand for both commercial and travel testing,” said Australian Clinical Labs CEO, Melinda McGrath.

ACL shares commenced trading in December at $4.25 but as the Omicron strain took the world by storm, the market quickly caught on to the revenue boost with ACL shares ending the month at $6.20.