Small-cap LumiraDx Ltd (NASDAQ:LMDX) surged 280% in early trading Monday after announcing a deal late Friday with major pharmaceutical player AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and Everton Football Club to set up England's first community-based heart and lung screening hub.
The hub will provide support for individuals suffering from chronic breathlessness and other heart and lung-related conditions in a community-based setting using LumiraDx's NT-proBNP test.
LumiraDx's NT-proBNP test is the only NT-proBNP test currently available that can be used with a simple fingerstick sample.
The screening hub is being made possible by unrestricted grant funding from AstraZeneca. Meanwhile, the charity affiliated with Everton Football Club will oversee operations at this innovative hub, situated within the recently inaugurated People's Place.
“A full blood draw can be daunting for patients, so the use of a simple fingerstick sample for our NT-proBNP test greatly broadens access to heart health checks within the community," David Walton, Chief Commercial Officer at LumiraDx commented. "By diagnosing heart failure faster, we aim to make a positive impact on patient outcomes, which then translates into positive economic outcomes for the NHS.”