Shares in Oxford BioDynamics PLC (AIM:OBD) rose as much as 9% in early trading on Friday after the company announced that its Oxford-based facility has been accredited by the UK’s national accreditation body, enabling it to run its flagship EpiSwitch tests domestically.
The laboratory has received ISO 15189 accreditation from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), allowing it to process clinical tests in the UK rather than relying on OBD’s US operations.
The certification also clears the way for faster turnaround times on its key EpiSwitch Checkpoint Inhibitor Response Test (CiRT), which helps identify patients most likely to benefit from immunotherapy.
All UK and European orders for both the CiRT and the EpiSwitch Prostate Screening test (PSE) will now be processed through the Oxford site.
OBD described the accreditation as a key milestone in its plans to scale operations and broaden access to its 3D genomics-based tests.
The clinical validation of CiRT in the UK lab follows earlier approvals in the US, where it had previously been processed under a CLIA-certified facility.
The shares settled at 294p, up 8p.