UP-NIH Can Produce 8k Covid-19 Test Kits Daily: FDA

The University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) is capable of producing 8,000 test kits for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) daily, Food and Drug Authority (FDA) Director Eric Domingo said Monday.

In a radio interview, Domingo said the UP-NIH has stockpiled 26,000 test kits which have been approved for commercial use by the FDA on April 3.

“Ang maganda nito, kung mayroon na tayong local na manufacturing, mas magiging sustainable at tuluy-tuloy ang supply ng ating kits…’Yun ang kanilang projection, kapag nag-full blast sila aabot sila ng 8,000 per day na ma-produce (The good thing about this is we can be sustainable and have continuous supply of test kits if we have local manufacturing. Their projection, they can produce 8,000 kits per day once they go full blast),” Domingo said.

He added that the locally-made Covid-19 test kit can also provide results in two to three hours and only costs PHP1,250 which is cheaper compared to imported which costs PHP6,000.

Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) said it has received 140,000 donated test kits.

On Sunday, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the country has eight laboratories that can perform 1,200 tests per day.

“Tinitiyak po natin na pagdating ng April 14, makakapag-test na po tayo, ang target po natin ay walong libo hanggang sampung libong test kada araw (We assure that by April 14, we can already test, and our target is 8,000 to 10,000 tests per day),” Vergeire said during a virtual presser. (PNA)