LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Point-of-care pharmacogenetic testing company Genedrive announced on Friday that it has received initial orders for its Genedrive MT-RNR1 products from five additional UK hospitals in the Greater Manchester area.
The AIM-traded firm said the hospitals included the Royal Oldham Hospital, Stepping Hill Hospital, Royal Bolton Hospital, Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, and Tameside General Hospital, with the total value of the orders exceeding £0.1m.

It said the new orders would significantly expand the use of Genedrive's MT-RNR1 test, more than doubling the number of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the UK using it in routine practice.

Collectively, the five hospitals admit around 1,900 babies annually.

The company described the Genedrive MT-RNR1 ID Kit as a non-invasive test that quickly identifies babies in NICUs who have an MT-RNR1 genetic variant.

It said the test, which delivers results in around 26 minutes, helps determine if newborns are at high risk of hearing loss from aminoglycoside antibiotics, thus aiding in rapid clinical decision-making and preventing the use of the antibiotics in susceptible infants.

The test received a conditional recommendation from the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in March last year, allowing its use in the NHS while additional evidence was gathered.

Efforts to generate that further evidence were ongoing, with the aim of achieving a full NICE recommendation, which was expected to facilitate national funding for the test.

"I am delighted to see the positive effects of our direct to customer commercialisation strategy in the UK, with further NHS engagement and uptake for bringing this vital test which has the potential to avoid profound, irreversible hearing loss in babies in neonatal care units into day-to-day use in neonatal emergency care," said chief executive officer James Cheek.

"Our expectation is that more NHS trusts will adopt this simple to use point of care genetic test in the coming months and we continue to grow our opportunities overseas."

At 1201 BST, shares in Genedrive were up 7.46% at 1,8p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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