Access Bio 1Q Sales 239.4 Billion KRW... Impact of US Defense Contract Award

In vitro diagnostics company Access Bio announced on the 15th that it recorded consolidated sales of $18.767 million (approximately KRW 239.4 billion) and operating profit of $4.239 million (approximately KRW 154.1 billion) in the first quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales fell by 70.3% and operating profit dropped by 86.0%.

Access Bio logo [Photo by Access Bio]

However, the company stated, "Despite significant concerns about performance due to the endemic (periodic resurgence of infectious diseases), we received a better performance compared to other companies." They explained, "This is because we won a contract worth KRW 261.9 billion from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), a procurement agency under the U.S. Department of Defense, in November last year and have completed delivery." Furthermore, since Access Bio is headquartered in the United States, although it is difficult to expect record demand as during the pandemic, the company added that having extensive experience in supplying to the U.S. public sector and the presence of public demand made this a good opportunity.

They also highlighted that producing rapid diagnostic kits at their local U.S. factory fulfills the requirements of the U.S. federal government's 'Buy American' policy, which is another strength.

An Access Bio representative said, “Over the past few years, due to COVID-19, people have worn masks and avoided virus exposure, resulting in decreased natural immunity and a recent significant increase in respiratory disease incidence.” They added, “We are focusing on developing rapid diagnostic kits capable of simultaneously diagnosing multiple respiratory diseases such as influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), to proactively respond to the respiratory disease diagnostic market that is expected to continue for several years.”

Access Bio is a U.S.-based company listed on KOSDAQ, with PharmGen Science as its largest shareholder, and was recently selected by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a next-generation diagnostic kit development research project.