Government Supports Development of Diagnostic Devices Using Blood from COVID-19 Patients

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] The government will provide multifaceted support, including the provision of blood from COVID-19 patients, for the clinical evaluation of COVID-19 diagnostic devices.

On the 17th, Jeong Byeong-seon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, held a meeting on "Support Measures for Infectious Disease-related Diagnostic Companies." During the meeting, Vice Minister Jeong listened to the difficulties faced by companies developing rapid COVID-19 antibody diagnostic technologies. The companies expressed challenges in the application and approval processes for diagnostic devices.

At the meeting, discussions were also held on support measures for companies through the infectious disease medical device consultative body. This consultative body is composed of research institutions under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Vice Minister Jeong stated that the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology and the Bio Nano Health Guard Research Center, both members of the consultative body, will oversee technical support for the development of rapid COVID-19 antibody diagnostic devices. Additionally, for clinical performance evaluation of diagnostic devices, institutions such as the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences and Chungnam National University Hospital discussed providing blood from COVID-19 patients as clinical resources.

Jeong Byeong-seon, the 1st Vice Minister, stated, "The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to continuously listen to the opinions of related companies, including diagnostic device manufacturers, and to continuously discover and support national-level support measures for infectious disease response."

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