Some blood tests being marketed to tell people if they have had the new coronavirus are a "disaster," Roche Chief Executive Severin Schwan said on Wednesday.
Francis Maguire reports.
The head of a major drugmaker has called some blood tests for the new coronavirus a 'disaster'.
Roche CEO Severin Schwan made the claim on Wednesday (April 22), As the Swiss pharma giant confirmed its 2020 sales and profit outlook, partly thanks to rising demand for COVID-19 testing.
Roche is preparing to launch its own antibody test next month.
The blood tests are meant to show whether people exposed to the disease have developed antibodies that may give immunity.
Countries around the world hope such blood tests will guide efforts to restart their economies and keep healthcare workers safe.
Schwan said Roche had studied some existing products for reliability before rejecting them.
A false-positive result could lead to the mistaken conclusion that someone has immunity.
Besides calling the faulty tests a 'disaster', Schwan also said they were 'ethically very questionable'.
He declined to say which rival tests the company had studied.
Schwan promised Roche tests would be reliable.
As the firm had successfully found the antibody produced by the body after exposure to the virus.
Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus on Wednesday, April 22.