Seegene Signs Exclusive Supply Contract for COVID-19 Diagnostic Kits with Kuwait Government Worth 5.3 Billion KRW

Supplied to 5 Research Institutes under Kuwait Ministry of Health for 5 Months

씨젠 Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Assay (Photo by Seegene)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Seegene will exclusively supply COVID-19 diagnostic kits worth 4.8 million USD (approximately 5.28 billion KRW) to the Kuwaiti government.

Seegene's Middle East branch announced on the 18th that it signed a contract with the Kuwait Ministry of Health (MOH) on the 16th (local time) to exclusively supply COVID-19 diagnostic products for the next five months. Until now, most COVID-19 diagnostic kits in Kuwait have been supplied by global molecular diagnostics giants, but this time Seegene secured exclusive supply rights from the Kuwaiti government.

Under this contract, Seegene will supply its COVID-19 diagnostic kit, 'Allplex™ SARS-CoV-2 Assay,' to five laboratories under the Kuwait MOH for about five months. The supply amount is approximately 5.3 billion KRW, which is 6 to 7 times the sales of Seegene in the Middle East region over the past two quarters.

Kuwait began large-scale vaccinations in December last year, and confirmed cases had slowed down earlier this year. However, with the recent emergence of variant viruses and the increase in COVID-19 spread, the need for accurate diagnosis has become prominent.

The diagnostic kit supplied under this contract is a multiplex diagnostic product that can detect a total of five gene targets in a single test: four COVID-19 virus genes and one gene for validating the entire testing process. Because it targets more viral genes compared to other companies' products, it can more reliably identify COVID-19 positive cases even in the presence of mutations. In particular, it can apply a 'non-extraction method' that omits the nucleic acid extraction process required in the PCR procedure, which is expected to improve the shortage of extraction equipment and contribute to effectively conducting mass testing.

Lee Ho, Seegene's Head of Sales, said, "Following consecutive supply contracts in Europe including Germany, Scotland, and Italy, we have signed an exclusive supply contract in the Middle East as well," adding, "This will be a great strength in targeting neighboring countries centered around the Middle East in the future."