Final Word from Thursday, March 25, 2021

Diana Biotechnologies of Vestec had almost zero sales before the corona crisis arrived, according to GM Pavel Brůžek Jr. of bpd partners, which owns 36% the company. Diana Biotech now has about 30% of the Czech market for PCR test kits, Brůžek told E15, and its revenue has jumped into the hundreds of millions of crowns. It has also taken steps toward building its own diagnostics laboratory. One of Diana Biotechnologies founding owners is Jan Konvalinka, a prominent biochemist who was among those successfully calling for mandatory testing in companies. He told Czech Radio, where he has a regular slot, that antigen tests are a good start for companies if they are supplemented with massive PCR testing. Konvalinka owns only 1% of Diana Biotechnologies, but this still constitutes a huge conflict of interest. How are listeners and TV viewers supposed to know when he is speaking as a scientist, and when as an investor in a company turning the corona crisis into cash? [ Czech Republic Czech Coal ]