WellBiotec, a South Korean leather product producer, said on Tuesday, it has a distribution contract with SolGent to sell the latter’s coronavirus sampling kit in Korea and overseas.

The Kospi-listed company said it already settled $2.4 million for the initial batch of DiaPlexQ™ Novel Coronavirus Detection Kit from the diagnostic kit developer and plans to increase its distribution volume in the future.

SolGent’s coronavirus sampling kit is based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and significantly faster than conventional PCR and other detection methods. PCR is a widely used molecular biology technique to amplify and detect DNA and RNA sequences. DiaPlexQ™ completes detection within two hours after extracting RNA from two COVID-19 genes (ORF1a and N genes).

Viruses and bacteria other than COVID-19 are not detected and a smaller amount of sample can be used for high-sensitivity diagnosis with DiaPlexQ™, according to WellBiotec. The kit was granted approval under the emergency use authorization framework in Korea, and the CE Mark was received for export to Europe.

WellBiotec said it has received pre-orders for the kit from several European countries through its subsidiary Nice Pharm and its strategic partner EC Corporation, and its initial shipments will cover testing for 50,000 persons this month.

WellBiotec shares gained 3.71 percent to end at 2,095 won ($1.69) on Tuesday.

By Pulse

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