Sona Nanotech (TSXV:SONA) withdraws Health Canada application and sends shares spiralling

• Shares in Sona Nanotech (SONA) are plummeting, after the company withdrew its rapid, COVID-19 antigen test from Health Canada’s approval process
• Based on feedback from the regulatory body, Sona has withdrawn the application “in order to obtain more clinical data to augment its submission”
• This latest development follows similarly poor new for the company’s antigen test application to the U.S. FDA, which was downgraded back in October
• The FDA ruling triggered a mass selloff of Sona shares, halving the company’s market cap in a single day’s trading
• Similarly, during trading today Sona Nanotech is currently down 68.81 per cent and is trading at 98 cents per share

Shares in Sona Nanotech (SONA) are plummeting, after the company withdrew its rapid, COVID-19 antigen test from Health Canada’s approval process.

Based on feedback from the regulatory body, Sona has withdrawn the application “in order to obtain more clinical data to augment its submission”. While the company intends to re-submit, it has not outlined how long it expects the application to remain in limbo.

This latest development follows similarly poor new for the company’s antigen test application to the U.S. FDA, which was downgraded back in October. The FDA ruling triggered a mass selloff of Sona shares, halving the company’s market cap in a single day’s trading.

At the time, Sona investors remained hopeful that the then-ongoing Health Canada certification process would prove fortuitous.

Now, with its application withdrawn, the company’s shares are once again in freefall, wiping a staggering rally, which started at the onset of COVID-19.

Trading at just 12 cents per share at the beginning of the year, shares in Sona shot up to more than 15 dollars apiece by July as the pandemic pushed investors towards hyped health-tech stocks.

Nevertheless, with the FDA and Health Canada application in dire straits, Sona shares have once again fallen below a dollar each.

Sona President and Chief Scientific Officer Darren Rowles remains confident in the test’s prospects, despite the setback.

“The regulatory approval path for antigen tests is new with evolving guidelines and Sona’s test is unique, creating a challenging environment for test developers and regulators alike. We are, however, committed to obtaining the data needed to successfully achieve authorizations,” he said.

Sona Nanotech is down 68.81 per cent and is trading at 98 cents per share at 2:58pm EST.