Roche climbs 11% in the stock market following FDA’s emergency authorization for its Coronavirus test

The Coronavirus emergency is currently the talk of the financial markets as it continues to wreak havoc on the global economy. In a recent development, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Roche (SWX: RO), had declared to have devised a new test kit for COVID-19. Following emergency authorization from the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Roche’s Coronavirus test, the company was seen trading 11% higher in the stock market.

Roche’s
Performance In The Stock Market

Much
of the gain, however, was lost later in the day with the pharmaceutical company
currently exchanging hands around 277 CHF that translates to over 10% decline
in 2020 so far. Its performance in 2019, on the contrary, was reported largely
upbeat with an annual gain of just under 30%. Share prices were seen around 240
CHF in January 2019 while the stock closed the last year at a significantly
higher 307 CHF in December. Roche currently has a market cap of 242.41 billion
CHF with a price to earnings ratio of 17.76.

Roche
claims its newly designed tests to be highly automated. Compatible with Roche’s
machines (fully-automated) that are currently widely in use across numberless
U.S hospitals and laboratories, Roche says the test offers results within 4
hours.

Roche
was also the pioneer to respond to the outbreak in China as it provided its
diagnostic toolkit for Coronavirus to healthcare centers in China. According to
CEO Severin Schwan, Roche’s prior experience with the SARS outbreak helped a
great deal in playing its role in ensuring timely diagnosis of Coronavirus. Schwan
further added that the company continues to work committedly towards ensuring
that the healthcare centers across the globe have access to the required
diagnostic platforms.

The
U.S Tested Only 11,000 People For Coronavirus Since January

The
United States has been lagging in terms of ensuring timely testing for the
virus. While the United Kingdom recorded 30,000 people in total to have been
tested for Coronavirus since January, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and
Prevention) revealed only 11,000 people in the U.S have been tested since the
start of January. South Korea, by contrast, is testing 20K per day for the
virus.

Following
the FDA’s approval for Roche’s diagnostic kit, the U.S will relish a
significant expansion in its capacity for Coronavirus diagnosis.  

Roche is also working
actively in improving tertiary care for the patients. Only recently, the Swiss drug
manufacturer received approval in China for its anti-inflammatory drug, Actemra
that was found effective for preventing severe immune reactions in the host’s body.