Department for health makes £134m claim over Novacyt Covid testing contract
Biotech firm Novacyt’s share price has plunged after the health department has issued a claim for £134.6m for one of its contracts.
The Anglo-French company issued an update on a dispute with the department for health and social care (DHSC) on Tuesday.
Shares fell around 15 per cent on Tuesday morning after Novacyt said it was notified that the DHSC had issued a claim against Primerdesign and Novacyt relating to a supply contract.
The claim amount is broadly in line with the disputed fourth quarter 2020 revenue, Novacyt said.
The contract in question is from September 2020 and relates to Covid testing.
In the statement issued to the London Stock Exchange, Novacyt said: “The company continues to believe it has strong grounds to defend the claim and assert its contractual rights, including in relation to recovering outstanding sums due from the DHSC.
“The company is unable to provide further comment at this time due to the ongoing nature of this claim but will provide further updates as appropriate.”
The contract reportedly relates to 300 PCR testing machines, test kits and support services.