The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Monday announced that locally developed COVID-19 test kits are now available commercially and cost P1,300 each.
DOST said at least 120,000 test kits manufactured by Manila HealthTek Inc. would be available starting Saturday. 26,000 of which will be for field implementation and distribution to certain hospitals that can do the testing, said DOST Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña.
“From April 4 (Saturday) to 25, there will be a field implementation for the 26,000 testing kits funded under the DOST and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) Project,” he said.
The testing hospitals include the Philippine General Hospital, Makati Medical Center, The Medical City, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and Baguio General Hospital.
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Locally-developed COVID-19 test kits cost P1,300 each
“The remaining 94,000 testing kits will be sold commercially by Manila HealthTek at around P1,300 per kit, which is cheaper than the units currently being used in hospitals which cost about P8,000,” he said.
He also said the Manila HealthTek has sufficient orders from the private sector who intend to donate them in turn to the Department of Health (Philippines) and hospitals.
De la Peña said COVID-19 testing kits’ field validation is ongoing and is expected to be completed by Wednesday.
“We have informed the FDA that requirements for CPR Certification will be submitted on Wednesday, April 1, at the latest,” he said.
The issuance of the Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) from the Food and Drug Administration Philippines (FDA) is expected on Friday, April 3, he added.