The second locally-produced Covid-19 test kit is a product of Phu Sa Biochemistry Company Ltd., with the cooperation of the Center for Application of Science and Technology of the Department of Science and Technology in Can Tho City.

The product has been completed and is waiting for a licence from the Ministry of Health to be put into commercial use like the first test kit of the Military Medical Academy.

A Ministry of Science and Technology representative introduces the Covid-19 test kit developed by Phu Sa Biochem. Photo: Trong Dat

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology’s representative, if the Covid-19 test kit of the Military Medical Academy uses Realtime PCR technology, the method that Phu Sa Biochem uses to create a test kit is more complex. Therefore, the time to complete the study of this product is longer than scheduled.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy said that each research project has a certain risk ratio. It is unlikely that a scientific project can be 100% successful from the moment the funding is granted. That is why it is difficult to say whether a research project will be successful or not, especially a complex scientific product like the Covid-19 test kit.

Duy also praised Phu Sa Biochem’s important contributions to the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute in testing to detect Covid-19 patients in the South.

Vietnam’s first Covid-19 test kit produced by the Military Medical Academy has been licenced by the Ministry of Health and it has been certified to meet European standards (CE) and granted a Certificate of Free Sale (CFS) by the British Department of Health and Social Care. It can now be sold in the European Union.

So far, this product has been exported to eight countries, including Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and Austria, and negotiations for export to many other markets are ongoing.

Trong Dat

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