Vietnamese firm seeks WHO's approval for Covid-19 test kits

Viet A Technologies Joint Stock Company said Sunday it has requested WHO to assess the "LightPower iVA SARS-CoV-2 1st RT-PCR Kit" and grant it the code EUL 0524-210-00.

The EUL procedure was established to expedite availability of diagnostics needed in public health emergencies. It helps procurement agencies and countries navigate the large presence of different devices on the market and access quality products.

The kits, which use reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), were developed successfully by the Vietnam Military Medical University and Viet A Company with funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The test kits were licensed by the Ministry of Health and put into mass production in Vietnam early last month.

Phan Quoc Viet, General Director of Viet A, told VnExpress that having WHO’s approval will make it easier for the products to be exported to other countries. He said organizations such as the World Bank and the global organization Clinton Health Access (CHAI) will enlist Vietnam’s test kits in their Covid-19 supporting programs.

Last Tuesday, Vietnamese Covid-19 test kits also received CE certification and a Certificate of Free Sale from the U.K., which allows them to be sold in Europe.

"After being licensed by the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care, the Covid-19 test kit made by Viet A has been exclusively ordered by a distribution partner for distribution in the U.K., the U.S., India, Mexico and some countries in Europe to the tune of 1 million tests a month," Viet said.

The current price of a test kit is VND400,000-600,000 ($17-26).

The kit is prepared in solution form to examine samples like nasopharynx, pleural fluid and blood. The results arrive in about an hour, excluding time spent on sample processing and extraction.

Last month around 20 countries and territories were negotiating purchase of the kits from Vietnam.

Viet A is set to export its products to Iran, Finland, Malaysia and Ukraine first, Viet had said, but further information about deals struck were not said at the time.

As of Sunday morning, Vietnam had conducted 212,142 tests. Of the country’s 270 Covid-19 patients, 230 have been discharged from the hospital.