UP-invented COVID-19 Test Kit now ready for mass production

The COVID-19 testing kit developed by scientists from the University of the Philippines (UP) is finally ready for mass production and usage after completing its field validation last Tuesday, April 1, 2020.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to issue a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) for GenAmplify™ Corona Virus 2019 (COVID-19) rRT PCR Detection Kit today, April 3, after giving its approval of the kit weeks ago.

Low-cost test kits to bring faster results

The low-cost test kits are expected to bring results faster compared to those from other countries.

According to a Facebook post by Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato de la Peña, the first batch of reagents has arrived they can already start producing test kits that can accommodate up to 120,000 tests.

On the other hand, from April 4 to 25, a number of test kits, which can work on 26,000 tests, will be made available for field implementation and will be distributed to the following medical institutions:

• Philippine General Hospital
• Makati Medical Center
• The Medical City
• Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center
• Southern Philippines Medical Center
• Baguio General Hospital

The field implementation is financed by DOST and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) Project.

How does the UP developed test kit work?

According to microbiology and biotechnology expert Dr. Raul Destura who led the team of scientists who developed the test kit, while using the same technology (polymerase chain reaction) to detect the disease, the newly developed test kit uses a single step detection system, which takes only about 1 to 2 hours compared to other which require about six hours.

As we wait for other developments on this new project made possible by our UP scientists and DOST, UP urges people to make sure that mass testing pushes through along with the full support from the national government’s support.