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DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Home Test (Celltrion) |
Celltrion USA, the US subsidiary of the Korean biotech firm, said Thursday it signed multiple deals to supply COVID-19 self-test kits worth 400 billion won ($330 million) in the US by the first quarter of this year.
The latest deals involve some 10 government agencies and companies, including the Defense Logistics Agency and the e-commerce giant Amazon.
Two kinds of test packs will be supplied: DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Home Test and DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test, both developed in partnership with Korean test kit specialist Humasis. Each received fast-track approvals from the US Food and Drug Agency in April and October, respectively.
Celltrion said a recent study conducted by the US National Institutes of Health has confirmed the effectiveness of the two test kits in detecting the omicron variant.
While securing a footing in the US with the latest deals, the firm added, it has also entered a new round of talks with several clients to supply more test kits in the second quarter.
“We‘re seeing a rise in demand for antigen tests in the US,” said a Celltrion official. “We will focus on scaling up our production to contribute to the fight against omicron and strengthen our brand in the market.”
By Ahn Ju-hee (
dianahn@heraldcorp.com)
