Illkirch-Graffenstaden (France) (AFP)

A bite at the tip of a finger, a drop of blood taken and deposited on a small test, and two drops of diluent: an Alsatian company hopes to soon offer over the counter, to the general public, rapid self-tests for the diagnosis of Covid-19 .

"Technically, it is ready, we are awaiting marketing authorization," says Gaël Levy, industrial director of Biosynex, a company located in the southern suburbs of Strasbourg.

The self-test would be almost similar to the Trod (rapid diagnostic orientation test) at Covid-19, which the company currently assembles and sells, but only to medical biology laboratories and hospitals.

Since the launch of production four weeks ago, the company has assembled around 400,000 on its Alsatian site.

Faced with the epidemic, we had to move quickly. To quickly increase its rate, Biosynex relocated part of its production, recruited more than 50 people and invested 3 million euros.

A profitable strategy: at the end of May, the company estimates that its turnover has increased by more than 16 million euros thanks to its additional activity linked to Covid-19, according to its CEO, Larry Abensur.

- Objective: the general public -

"Today, we have a production capacity of almost 50,000 tests per day. We could go up to around 100,000," points out Mr. Levy.

The self-test is being approved by a certified body. The company should receive a response by the end of June, after a month and a half of waiting.

If he obtains the CE marking and "if the French government does not oppose it, it would be available in pharmacies", at a price below 20 euros, says Gaël Levy.

Biosynex joined two studies to people who are not used to performing self-tests to the approval request.

One to check the practicability, that is to say if they manage to do the test themselves after reading the leaflet. The other to judge their interpretation of the results.

In addition to expanding the use of its Covid-19 tests to new healthcare professionals, Biosynex is therefore targeting another market: the general public. Contrary to the opinion of the High Health Authority (HAS), which describes the use of self-tests as "premature".

In a self-test box, "we would add additional accessories such as a disinfectant wipe, a compress and a bandage. The instructions would be more detailed", and the visuals would be different, specifies the industrial director.

Pending approval and possible marketing in pharmacies, Biosynex was forced to reduce its production rate.

In its premises, two small rooms, low ceilings, specially designed for Covid-19 tests, are ultimately used for the production of other tests that the company manufactures: angina, pregnancy, gluten, etc.

"Answer a request" -

Oren Bitton, commercial director, explains the gestures, the accessories placed in front of him, to test the coronavirus: "we prick the tip of the finger to have a drop of blood, we come to look for it by aspirating it with a pipette. I pour the blood in this little well, I put two drops of thinner in this one ... And it's over! "

In less than ten minutes, whatever the result, a band appears at the indicator "C", for "control". "It means the test works," says Bitton.

He himself was infected with the virus three months ago. On his test, two new traits then emerge next to the inscriptions IgM and / or IgG, the two forms of antibody that the body develops in response to the virus.

On a negative test, only the red control strip remains visible.

Currently, "the interest of the self-test is to respond to a request and a need from the population, to know if a person has been in contact with the virus", recognizes Mr. Bitton.

Before confessing that a fear of "collateral side effects" still exists behind the massive use of self-tests, mainly the cessation of barrier gestures "which are today the only effective gestures".

© 2020 AFP