Shares in genedrive PLC (AIM:GDR, FRA:D6M) climbed 9% to 1.09p on Monday after a new UK clinical guideline recommended the genetic testing that underpins the company's flagship product, naming its kit directly.
The guidance, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, covers MT-RNR1 genotype testing to prevent antibiotic-induced hearing loss.
That damage can follow a single dose of an aminoglycoside, a class of antibiotic widely used in emergency and neonatal care, in patients carrying a particular genetic variant.
The guideline recommends testing for people of all ages and genetic ancestries before the antibiotic is given, provided a result can be returned quickly enough to be useful.
On point-of-care testing, which means analysing a sample at the bedside rather than sending it to a laboratory, it says the approach should be considered wherever available in acute settings.
It names the Genedrive MT-RNR1 ID Kit, which detects the relevant variant from a cheek swab and returns a result in roughly 26 minutes.
The guidance was developed by the UK Centre of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation in Pharmacogenomics.
Gino Miele, chief executive of the AIM-quoted company, said the kit is the only point-of-care test of its kind in routine clinical use in UK neonatal intensive care units.
He said the recommendations offered further support for wider adoption across the National Health Service in acute care generally.
The guideline also references an Early Value Assessment from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which backs the kit for use in newborns while further evidence is gathered.
Early economic modelling by the health technology assessor suggested the test could prove both cheaper and more effective than standard care.
The institute has said evidence from the PALOH-UK programme, which is designed to fill the gaps it identified, will feed into a planned review of that guidance.
