South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. completed constructing medical diagnostic reagents manufacturing plant in Cheongju, central Korea, said the company on Monday.

The medical diagnostic reagents are drugs used to diagnose a patient’s illness by using the person’s tissue samples such as a drop of blood or a thread of hair and track effects from treatment.

LG Chem’s new medical diagnostic reagents factory commanding a floor area of 2,370 square meters is capable of producing diagnostic reagent products for up to 19 million tests a year and it will produce 12 different varieties.

The chemical firm predicts fast growth in medical diagnostic reagents market as the medical and pharmaceutical market is shifting from treatment to prevention amid fast aging in the society. The local diagnostic reagent market currently is dominated by foreign firms.

LG Chem has studied and developed medical diagnostic reagents for nearly 30 years. It has been supplying hepatitis C test kit, the first of its diagnostic reagent products to local blood banks since 1995.

Shares of LG Chem closed Tuesday at 326,500 won ($290.61), up 7,000 won or 2.19 percent from the previous session.

By Kim Hye-soon

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