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- Sensor maker Sensera (SE1) tumbles this morning after the company lost a key customer, NanoDX, on the back of some technological challenges
- Sensera has been working with NanoDX to integrate microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology into NanoDX’s COVID-19 tests kits
- However, Sensera says it’s now clear that this technology does not allow for the COVID tests to scale up to high-volume manufacturing
- As such, NanoDX has changed tac to a new design that does not include MEMS, meaning it will no longer work with Sensera
- Shares in Sensera are down 33.3 per cent and trading at 2.4 cents
Shares in sensor maker Sensera (SE1) tumbled this morning after the company lost a key customer, NanoDX, on the back of some technological challenges.
For the last 18 months, Sensera has been working with NanoDX to integrate the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology into NanoDX’s point-of-care COVID-19 tests.
MEMS are tiny sensors — usually between 10 and 100 micrometres in size — typically used in blood pressure sensors, vehicle airbag sensors, computer disk drive read and write heads, and more. For reference, one micrometre is one millionth of a metre.
NanoDX’s COVID-19 test kit is designed to detect the presence of the virus in just two minutes in a low-cost, portable handheld device through nasal, throat, saliva, or blood samples.
Sensera said there has been a sustained effort to interface its MEMS structures into the nanowire-based test kit technology, but this has been a “difficult technological challenge”.
Sensera said after the 18 months of work, it became clear that this combination of technologies does not allow for the COVID tests to scale up to high-volume manufacturing.
As such, NanoDX has made the call to change tac entirely.
“NanoDX has commenced an entirely new type of design that does not include MEMS and this will terminate any further activity with Sensera on this product,” the company said in an announcement to the ASX.
Nevertheless, medical device maker Abiomed remains Sensera’s largest customer.
In July, Sensera said Abiomed had recently increased its demand for sensors. As such, Sensera predicted demand of over US$4 million (A$5.5 million) for the 2022 financial year from Abiomed alone.
Shares in Sensera were down 33.3 per cent and trading at 2.4 cents each at 11:45 am AEDT. The company has a $14.9 million market cap.
