[Click eStock] "Sujentek's Diagnostic Kit Likely to be Commercialized Quickly"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Korea Investment & Securities analyzed on the 9th that antibody testing (rapid testing) could be a solution to improve the speed of diagnosis for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), creating a favorable business environment for domestic companies such as SuzenTech, Boditech Med, and PCL, which have completed development in Korea.

Jeon Seung-yoon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "Korea's rapid COVID-19 diagnostic speed is gaining global attention," adding, "This is less about the manufacturing capability of the diagnostic kits themselves and more about the well-established medical infrastructure, government and regulatory agency responses and regulations, and insurance reimbursement."

He explained, "Currently, there is a significant disparity in diagnostic speeds among countries," and "COVID-19 is rapidly spreading in Western countries recently, especially in Europe where the spread has become full-scale, so it is highly likely that emergency use authorization systems will be implemented for rapid response like in Korea." He continued, "Domestic companies with records of conducting tests on many patients can be alternatives."

In particular, Jeon emphasized that using antibody testing is effective for proactive response. He evaluated, "The current method used to accurately diagnose infection status is molecular testing, which takes an average of six hours for results," and "To proactively respond to patients in the incubation period or asymptomatic patients, utilizing antibody testing is effective."

Korea Investment & Securities forecasted that SuzenTech's diagnostic kit would be the fastest to commercialize. He explained, "The company that can commercialize the fastest domestically is SuzenTech," adding, "They have already signed clinical contracts with major domestic hospitals, and clinical trials are expected to be completed within weeks," and "They have also applied for export and usage approval to overseas regulatory agencies (excluding the United States), and the company expects approval to be possible within as short as one month or as long as several months."