POSITIVE RESULT. Declining demand for Covid-19 tests in the United States suggests the pandemic is receding. Shares in BioMerieux (BIOX.PA), a near 12 billion euro biotechnology company, fell 9% on Tuesday when the French firm halved its growth expectations from 20% for the first half of the year to 10%. Sales growth in its molecular biology unit, which makes Covid-19 tests, slowed in the three months to end-March to nearly 19%, from 82% in the previous quarter. Vaccine progress will hit sales further. BioMerieux experienced the biggest hit in its U.S. business, which contributed 46% of sales in 2020 but where over 40% of Americans have received their first Covid-19 jab, implying less need for testing. The UK is displaying a similar decline in testing as it ramps up its inoculation programme. If demand continues to collapse it could hit BioMerieux’s valuation, which before today’s slump traded at 30 times its forward earnings. The flipside is that it should be a leading indicator of global recovery. (By Aimee Donnellan) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Earlier in Capital Calls: Japanese economy drives into political mud read more The dash for deposits read more Betway to go read more EU’s vaccine feud is more political than financial read more Honest IPO read more