State spending on strategic industries to surge 43% next year
 |
|
Celltrion’s COVID-19 test kit DiaTrust (Celltrion)
|
Celltrion announced Thursday that it had won a contract to supply its rapid COVID-19 test DiaTrust to the US government.
Starting Oct. 1, Celltrion USA, Celltrion’s US-based unit, will begin supplying COVID-19 tests to 25,000 sites, including military facilities, nursing homes and COVID-19 test centers.
Under the deal signed with the US Defense Logistics Agency, the US authorities could buy more if needed. Celltrion said the total amount could reach 738.2 billion won ($626.61 million), without disclosing the initial order.
Bloomberg reported that the deal was for 19 million DiaTrust tests for $626.4 million.
Celltrion said among companies that recently won US government contracts, it expected to be the largest supplier of rapid COVID-19 tests.
“It is meaningful that the company has won the US government contract, which asks to procure domestic materials and products under the Buy American Act.”
Celltrion’s DiaTrust is an antigen test co-developed by Celltrion and local biotech firm Humasis. The test won emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in April.
The rapid COVID-19 test, which is used in medical settings, can return results in about 15 minutes on-site.
By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)