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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider UP-developed COVID-19 test kits ready for rollout

UP-developed COVID-19 test kits ready for rollout

Published Apr 3, 2020 12:00 am
By Alexandria Dennise San Juan  The COVID-19 testing kits developed by scientists of the University of the Philippines (UP) have completed field validation, and are now ready for mass production and usage. In a post by the UP Office of the Student Regent, it said that the locally-developed test kits invented by microbiology and biotechnology expert Dr. Raul Destura and other scientists of the university already completed field validation on April 1. The Food and Drug Administration Philippines (FDA), which approved the test kits weeks ago, is expected to issue the Certificate of Product Registration for the GenAmplify™ Corona Virus 2019 (COVID-19) rRT PCR Detection Kit on Friday, April 3, and will give the go signal for the rollout on Saturday, April 4. In a separate statement, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña said that the Manila HealthTek Inc. reported that the first batch of reagents have arrived. This will enable them to start manufacturing up to 120,000 test kits. “A certain number of testing kits that can do up to 26,000 tests will be prioritized by the DOST for field implementation and distribution to the Philippine General Hospital, Makati Medical Center, The Medical City, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and Baguio General Hospital,” Dela Peña explained. The science and technology chief added that a field implementation for the 26,000 tests, funded under the DOST and the UP-National Institutes of Health Project, will be done from April 4 to 25. According to Dela Peña, the remaining testing kits, good for around 94,000 tests, will be sold commercially by Manila HealthTek at around P1,300 per kit, which is cheaper than the units currently being used in hospitals that cost about P8,000. Manila HealthTek assured they have enough orders from the private sector, from those who intend to donate them in turn to the Department of Health and other hospitals.
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