[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Access Bio announced on the 23rd that it has been selected as a supplier in a bid led by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) under the U.S. Department of Defense to supply COVID-19 antigen self-test kits.
The minimum contract amount is 55.6 billion KRW, with a contract structure that can expand up to 556.4 billion KRW. The expected purchase amount estimated by the DLA is 278.2 billion KRW.
Thirteen companies competed in this bid, and major multinational corporations including Access Bio, Quidel, iHealth, and OraSure were selected. This is known to be part of the U.S. government's policy announced in September to purchase 100 million COVID antigen self-test kits.
Access Bio's selection is based on the "Made in America" policy. One of the main selection criteria for this bid is that more than 65% of the raw materials used in product manufacturing must be of U.S. origin, and Access Bio owns a local factory in the U.S.
An Access Bio official said, "We secured the maximum quantity in this bid led by the DLA," adding, "We will continue to fulfill U.S. government procurement based on excellent performance."
Access Bio is a KOSDAQ-listed U.S. company with diagnostic kit production facilities in the U.S. Recently, it succeeded in developing a highly sensitive COVID antigen self-test kit product with sensitivity close to that of PCR tests, achieving technological innovation in rapid diagnostic products.
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