Supply Disruption of COVID-19 Diagnostic Reagents...Health Authorities "Will Prepare Countermeasures"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Although local transmission of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is rapidly progressing, concerns are emerging that disruptions in COVID-19 testing may occur due to a shortage in the supply of reagents used for diagnostic tests.

On the 1st, Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at a regular briefing, "There is no problem with the diagnostic kits themselves, but it is true that there is a disruption in the supply of reagents used to isolate and extract nucleic acids for diagnostic testing."

Currently, diagnosis involves extracting nucleic acids containing genetic information from specimens of suspected COVID-19 patients and amplifying them for testing. For this process, reagents capable of isolating and extracting nucleic acids from patient specimens are required.

The issue is that Roche, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company supplying diagnostic reagents to South Korea, has recently redirected reagent supplies to China upon their request, resulting in insufficient quantities being supplied to South Korea. The reagents supplied by Roche are used in diagnostic tests conducted by Seegene Medical Foundation, which employs diagnostic kits approved for emergency use by the government. Seegene Medical Foundation procures reagents from Roche and Seegene, the diagnostic kit developer, but supply disruptions have occurred from Roche's side.

The health authorities have begun taking measures. Their plan includes developing alternative products or negotiating with Roche headquarters to increase supply. Deputy Director Kwon explained, "We are currently in discussions with Roche headquarters and making efforts such as developing alternative reagents ourselves," adding, "We are preparing and making efforts to resolve the issue."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.