PH kits for 120,000 coronavirus tests available by April 4

MANILA, Philippines – Locally-made kits that can accommodate 120,000 tests for novel coronavirus infection will be available by Saturday, April 4, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said.

In a press release on Monday, March 30, the DOST said Manila HealthTek Inc, a diagnostic solutions laboratory, had received the first batch of reagents that would enable it to manufacture kits for 120,000 tests.

To be prioritized for manufacturing are 1,300 test kits funded by the DOST and the UP National Institutes of Health project that would accommodate 26,000 of those tests. They will be ready distributed to the following hospitals from April 4 to 25: 

• Philippine General Hospital, Manila
• Makati Medical Center
• The Medical City, Pasig City
• Baguio General Hospital
• Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Cebu City
• Southern Philippines Medical Center, Davao City

The remaining kits good for 94,000 tests will be sold by Manila HealthTek at around P1,300 per kit. Kits currently being sold in hospitals are priced at around P8,000. (READ: Where are testing centers for coronavirus in PH?)

Field validation for the test kits are expected to be finished by Wednesday, April 1, and the Food and Drug Administration Philippines is expected to issue a certificate of product registration for these on April 3. (READ: HELL ON EARTH: The agonizing confusion over coronavirus testing in PH)

The DOST said Manila HealthTek has orders from the private sector that are intended to be donated to the Department of Health and hospitals. – Rappler.com