Korean firm's exports of virus test kits hit 10 million units to 60 countries

SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- Seegene Inc., a major diagnostic assay maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it has exported more than 10 million coronavirus test kits in just two months.

Seegene said its Allplex novel coronavirus test kit has been sold to more than 60 countries, including the United States, Germany, Italy and France.

The company said it currently exports over 3 million tests a week but plans to increase that volume to 5 million a week next month to meet rising demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The test has a unique feature that identifies 3 different targets in a single reaction tube using its own multiplex chemistry technologies, which allows for highly accurate results and maximizes the throughput for high volume testing," Seegene said in a release.

To help countries in need of better virus tests, Seegene said it has teamed up with its affiliate Seegene Medical Foundation (SMF), a testing laboratory in South Korea.

SMF, whose COVID-19 testing capacity reaches up to 15,000 a day, can report test results within 24 hours after receiving samples from overseas.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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