Published January 30, 2021, 2:41 PM
More local government units are opting to use antigen tests to detect and prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a testing advocate said.
According to LabX Corporation Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jose Miguel Vergara, “more local government units are turning to faster, cheaper, and more reliable antigen tests” amid the fight against the pandemic.
“[The] company has received more orders and inquiries for antigen test kits that boast of 96 percent sensitivity/accuracy and almost 100 percent specificity,” said Vergara in a statement.
LabX is the official Philippine distributor of Sofia 2 manufactured by US-based Quidel Corporation as well as FINA and AgILA antigen tests made by Lansion Biotechnology Co. Ltd (Lansion) of China, he said.
COVID-19 diagnostics: MSF welcomes more affordable rapid tests for lower- and middle-income countries
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Geneva, 29 January 2021 – Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) welcomes the recent announcement by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and Unitaid to scale up production of critical COVID-19 rapid tests, and reduce the price by half for lower- and middle-income countries. On behalf of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which works to increase COVID-19 tests availability, the two organisations signed a contract with an Indian medical supplies company, Premier Medical Corporation, to produce 120 million COVID-19 antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests per year at a price of US$2.50 per test.
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Novel approach for minimizing investment risks and stretching limited budgets has 375 innovations targeting infectious diseases under development
NEW YORK, Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ The public-private initiatives that contributed to COVID-19 vaccine and drug development have showcased a model for accelerating biomedical innovation. However, the effectiveness of public-private partnerships in fighting global health threats had emerged long before this pandemic hit. Over the last decade, such alliances have produced a wide assortment of life-saving technologies targeting diseases that afflict billions in low-income countries, according to a new report from a group of 12 product development partnerships (PDPs) that assesses their impact and future potential.
Millions of low-cost diagnostic tests to be made available to poorest nations
The move is a significant step to increase access in poorer countries, where testing rates are 10 times lower than in developed nations
25 January 2021 • 10:40am
A health worker takes a nasal swab of a resident for a rapid antigen test at a market in Mumbai
Credit: Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP
A World Health Organization-backed initiative has announced a major deal to halve the cost of rapid tests for developing countries, a “significant step” towards securing cheap and widespread access to diagnostics.
While mass testing is commonly available in developed countries - and used as a critical tool to manage Covid-19 - many of the world s poorest countries have been left behind.