SEC issues COVID-19 halt for Blackhawk Growth The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has halted Blackhawk Growth Corp. of Vancouver, citing the company's claims surrounding a 15-minute disposable antibody test kit for COVID-19. The SEC says that there are questions about the accuracy of those claims. A halt is necessary for the protection of investors.
The halt is contained in a brief order that the SEC released on Tuesday, June 23. The sole target of the order is Blackhawk, which trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange and on the OTC Pink. The company claims to have the rights to distribute disposable COVID-19 test kits in North America and parts of Europe. The test devices supposedly have a strip that will turn purple within three to 15 minutes of being exposed to COVID-19 antibodies.
The SEC, however, says that there are questions about those claims. The regulator has not provided any details, but it does cite four news releases (dated April 22 and April 29, as well as May 10 and May 11, 2020) in which Blackhawk touted the test kit. Among other things, the company's chief executive officer, Frederick Pels, said that the company planned to "rapidly strategize" to fill orders for the kit, which supposedly had an "exceptionally high" accuracy rate.