[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] VBVB announced on the 18th that it has signed a supply contract worth 15 billion KRW for the Mark-B COVID-19 antigen diagnostic kit (‘MARK-B™ COVID-19 Ag’, hereafter Mark-B) with a listed company in Mongolia.
Mark-B allows on-site test results to be confirmed within 10 minutes using a sample collected with a swab from the nasopharynx. Compared to RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test performance, it provides results with sensitivity exceeding 94%. Unlike rapid antigen diagnostic kits that interpret results visually, Mark-B has the advantage of being read by a portable dedicated analyzer.
The Mark-B kits supplied by VBVB to Mongolia will be used for COVID-19 screening during inter-administrative region travel. Although Mongolia has a population of only 3,329,282, it ranks 18th worldwide with an area of 156.41 million hectares, which is seven times the size of the Korean Peninsula. As of the 17th, Mongolia’s cumulative COVID-19 confirmed cases reached 336,508, meaning one out of every ten people has been infected.
A VBVB official said, "Mongolia requires submission of a negative test certificate even when traveling between administrative regions. It is significant that the Mongolian government has recognized tests other than PCR."
Starting with this supply, VBVB plans to strengthen healthcare device cooperation with Mongolia. In addition to COVID-19 diagnostic kits, cancer and myocardial infarction diagnostic devices will be supplied sequentially. Discussions are also underway for supplying COVID-19 neutralizing antibody kits. Thanks to this, VBVB’s push for listing on KOSDAQ is expected to gain momentum.
The official added, "Globally, the number of travelers is expected to increase after the ‘With COVID’ era. We will expand the countries using Mark-B and actively respond to diverse demands."
Meanwhile, the Mark-B kits supplied to Mongolia will be produced by Syswork, an affiliate of VBVB.
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