[Special Stock] Gyeongnam Pharmaceutical's 'Test Kits' Soar as COVID-19 Cases Surge

On the 26th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 10,000 for the first time due to the spread of Omicron, citizens visited a temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Kyungnam Pharmaceutical surged to the daily upper limit on the 28th as COVID-19 confirmed cases rapidly increased.

Kyungnam Pharmaceutical was trading at 4,120 KRW, up 950 KRW (29.97%) compared to the previous day, just 10 minutes after the market opened that morning.

With the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases surpassing 16,000 on the day, breaking the all-time record, investment funds appear to have poured into Kyungnam Pharmaceutical, which sells COVID test kits.

Kyungnam Pharmaceutical signed a production and supply contract for COVID test kits with Rapigen, a medical device specialist company. Kyungnam Pharmaceutical's COVID test kit uses Rapigen's second-generation Black Gold Particle technology, which was the first COVID-19 personal diagnostic kit product in Korea to receive formal approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in July. The test detects COVID-19 antigens and completes the test within 30 minutes.

According to Rapigen's internal analysis, Kyungnam Pharmaceutical's COVID test kit targets the 'Nucleocapsid protein,' which has fewer mutations when detecting the coronavirus, making it unaffected by the Omicron variant.

Additionally, Rapigen investigated the mutation sequences of the 'N Protein' through the COVID-19 spread tracking site and Stanford University's 'Coronavirus antiviral & resistance database.' As a result, they confirmed the test's effectiveness not only against Omicron but also against 37 known COVID-19 variants to date.

Earlier, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of 12:00 AM on the day, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases was 16,096, setting a new record. The number of new COVID-19 cases has been increasing daily over the past week. From the 22nd, the numbers were 7,007 → 7,628 → 7,512 → 8,570 → 13,010 → 14,518 → 16,096. The cumulative death toll stands at 6,678 (fatality rate 0.84%).