Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 20)— The mass distribution of the country’s first locally-developed test kits for COVID-19 detection started Monday, the Department of Science and Technology said.
The agency said the first batch of the test kits was delivered to the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, making it the first health facility to officially use the low-cost product.
Invented by scientists from the UP-NIH, the Philippine Genome Center, and The Manila HealthTek Inc., the GenAmplify™ COVID-19 rRT-PCR Detection Kit was approved earlier this month by the Food and Drug Administration for public use following weeks of field trial. The DOST said the total cost of the project is ₱53.2 million.
The complete set costs roughly ₱1,828.40, inclusive of tax. The price is deemed cheaper than other products rolled out in international markets.
Currently, the test kit production runs around 8,000 tests daily, with 26,000 tests available on deck. Dr. Raul Destura, deputy executive director of the Philippine Genome Center, said his team is eyeing to double their production capacity to 16,000 tests per day by May 1.
The DOST said several other institutions, including the Philippine Genome Center, Bataan General Hospital, Araneta Foundation, Office of the Vice President, and the local government units of Iloilo, Antipolo, and Pulilan have availed of the product.
To date, the Philippines has recorded 6,459 positive cases of the infectious disease.
The first batch of locally made COVID-19 test kits have been delivered today.
The University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) will be the first facility to officially use the kits | via @DOST_PH pic.twitter.com/xq9R2B3A99
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) April 20, 2020
