(Original title: Super mutant strain “Omicron” hits the new crown detection concept stocks are active and soaring)
The new coronavirus variant Omicron, which was newly discovered last week, caused a worldwide uproar. The Omi Keron strain is thought to have a stronger ability to spread and break through vaccine protection. Since the first case of infection with the new coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 was found in South Africa on November 24, the World Health Organization was subsequently named “Omicron” (Omicron).
The World Health Organization pointed out in the “Summary of Known Information” released on November 28 that there are several mutations in the Omi Kiron strain of the new coronavirus that may affect its transmission capacity and pathogenicity, but it is not yet clear. Is the Omi Keron strain more contagious than other mutant strains, and whether it will cause more serious diseases.
Confirmed cases of super variant Omicron appear in multiple places, global market plummets
The world is worried about a new outbreak of the new crown epidemic. The mutant strain “Omi Keron” has spread to many countries. As of November 28, the Omi Keron strain has “conquered” Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. At present, cases of its infection have been detected in more than 10 countries/regions, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Infected cases have been detected in Botswana, Israel, Australia and Hong Kong, China. In addition, according to Fauci, an American epidemiologist, the Omi Keron strain may have appeared in the United States, but has not yet been discovered. Up to now, more than 20 countries have adopted “stop flights” or entry restrictions on southern African countries.
The mutated strains of the new crown are coming fiercely, and the global market is also experiencing a plunge in panic. Under the assumption of a “more powerful mutant virus”, the three major indexes collectively fell on the U.S. stock market due to the early closing of the Thanksgiving holiday last Friday. The Dow fell 2.53%, the S&P 500 fell 2.27%, the largest drop since February, and the Nasdaq fell. 2.23%. Anti-epidemic stocks rose sharply against the market, with United Healthcare Products rising by more than 54%, Moderna by more than 20%, BioNTech by more than 14%, Novavax Pharmaceuticals by nearly 9%, and Pfizer by more than 6%. At the same time, the “panic index” VIX, which measures S&P’s recent volatility, soared 53% to break through 28, a two-month high since mid-September.
In addition, the major European stock indexes fell sharply at the close. The German DAX30 index fell 4.22%, the UK FTSE 100 index fell 3.68%, the French CAC40 index fell 4.75%, the Stoxx Europe 50 index fell 4.74%, and the Stoxx Europe 600 index closed. It fell 3.7%, the biggest drop since June 2020. In terms of major global asset prices, WTI crude oil January futures closed down 13.06% at 68.15 US dollars per barrel; Brent crude oil January futures closed down 11.55 percent at 72.72 US dollars per barrel. According to market news, OPEC tends to cut production because oil is declining under the influence of the virus variant.
New variants are coming, and many testing reagent companies respond
In the face of the new crown super mutant strain, whether the existing detection reagents can detect the new virus has aroused widespread concern. In response, a number of testing reagent companies responded quickly. Moderna Inc. discussed plans to respond to the Omicron new crown variant, including a new vaccine candidate against the variant virus with the number mRNA-1273.529; the company said that it is testing against this variant. Three new crown vaccine candidates for booster shots.
Domestic A-share listed companies Shuoshi Bio, Rejing Bio, Zhijiang Bio, and Oriental Bio also stated that the company’s new crown detection kit can effectively detect the Omicron virus. Shuoshi Biotech stated that the company has completed the current data monitoring of all new coronavirus variants, including Alpha (B.1.1.7 in the United Kingdom), Beta (B.1.351 in South Africa), and Delta (B.1.617.2, AY.1, India). AY.2, AY.3) and P.3 (Theta Philippines), Mu (B.1.621), B.1.640, B.1.1.529 and other variants. The results of pseudovirus synthesis on key mutation sites and experimental verification confirmed that the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit (fluorescence PCR method) of the new coronavirus of Societies will not be off-target or missed detection for the above-mentioned mutants. Effectively guarantee the detection specificity, accuracy and sensitivity. Zhijiang Biological said that the company’s listed new coronavirus 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit (fluorescent PCR method) and currently popular variants (including but not limited to Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Kappa, Eta, Iota, Lambda) And Omicron, etc.) have carried out biological information analysis and comparison verification, and the results confirmed that Zhijiang Bio has launched the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit (fluorescent PCR method) without off-target and missed detection.
At the same time, Hotview Biotech stated that the company’s existing products are still effective for the detection of new mutant strains. After sequence comparison and bioinformatics analysis, the detection reagent can detect the mutant strain of’Omi Keron’. In addition, the company calls the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), Beta variant (B.1.351), Gamma variant (P.1), Delta variant (B.1.617.2), Kappa variant (B.1.617.1), Eta mutant strain (B.1.525), Lota mutant strain (B.1.526), Lambda mutant strain (C.37) can be covered, there will be no off-target and missed detection. The official website of Oriental Bio also released news that for the new coronavirus Omicron, after a large number of nucleic acid sequence comparisons, the company’s new coronavirus nucleic acid detection kit can be effectively detected, and its laboratory verification experiment has been carried out; after bioinformatics analysis, the company The antigen detection kit produced can also effectively detect Omicron virus, and laboratory verification experiments for its detection performance are still in progress.
Epidemic envelopes new crown detection concept stocks active and strong
Under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Europe’s winter has come. Last week, more than 60% of new cases and deaths worldwide occurred in Europe. From Austria to the Netherlands, from Germany to the United Kingdom… As the epidemic continues to worsen, more and more European countries have recently been forced to tighten epidemic prevention measures again. Not only has the foreign epidemic situation been severe, but since the fourth quarter, the domestic epidemic has also rebounded many times.
According to the National Health Commission, from 0-24 on November 28, 41 new confirmed cases nationwide, including 20 new imported cases and 21 new local cases (20 in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, 1 in Dehong, Yunnan) Cases), including 2 cases from asymptomatic infections to confirmed cases (both in Inner Mongolia); 22 new asymptomatic infections, including 18 imported from abroad and 4 domestically.
It is worth noting that due to the continuous rebound of the epidemic, in the first three quarters of this year, many domestic new crown testing concept stocks have experienced rapid growth. According to statistics from Databank, the net profits of Hotview Bio, Oriental Bio, Leadman, Haili Bio, Nuohe Zhiyuan, and Jimin Medical have all doubled. In the third quarterly report of Rejing Biology, a profit of 1.476 billion yuan was achieved, a year-on-year increase of nearly 290 times, mainly because the company’s new crown testing reagent products have successively obtained certification from many foreign countries and regions, and the impact of the surge in foreign trade orders. According to the consensus forecast data of 3 and above institutions, 20 new crown testing concept stocks are expected to increase their net profit by more than 15% in 2021. The agency predicts that the net profit of Nuohe Zhiyuan, Jiuqiang Biological, Wantai Biological, and Kaipu Biological will double this year. Market analysis indicated that the current winter season and the approach of New Year’s Day and Spring Festival, the trend of returning home will be staged again, and the demand for new crown nucleic acid testing is expected to further increase.
In the secondary market, the A-share new crown testing concept stocks have tended to be active recently. As of November 26, the overall average increase of concept stocks exceeded 10%, far exceeding the increase of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Index during the same period. Among them, the cumulative increase of Lanwei Medical, Rui Ang Gene, Novazan, Bohui Innovation, and Nuovo Zhiyuan all exceeded 20%, and Lanwei Medical ranked first with an increase of 57.48%.
Affected by the new variant of the virus, on November 29, the new crown detection plate strengthened again. As of noon, Tianrui Instruments (300165.CN) had a daily limit, Shuoshi Bio (688399.CN) rose by more than 14%, Zhijiang Bio (688317.CN) rose by more than 11%, Meikang Bio (300439.CN), Bohui Innovation (300318.CN), Anxu Biology (688075.CN), Hotview Biology (688068.CN), Oriental Biology (688298.CN), etc., have risen by more than 8%.