As people in India were looking for a Covid-19self-testing landscape, Abbott, a US-based pharmacy and diagnostic launchedPanbio for Rs 325 per test. This is the second option that is available in India,after CoviSelf which was launched by Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions. Theprice of the first test kit was Rs 250 for one test.
Abbott imports this self-testing kit from its Koreanplant and will be imported into the retail outlets soon. They will be availablein pharmacies, organizations, institutions, and e-commerce platforms. The VicePresident of Abbott India, Ambati Venu said that this option is more economicaland so the access will be higher than the RT-PCR test. The distributor for the collaborationbetween Abbott and pharmaceutics divisions will be PanBio. He stated, “We willmake the product available across half a million stores, which will not onlycover semi-urban but also tier-2 and 3 cities where the access to RT-PCR wasalways a challenge.”
“Abbott is the manufacturer of the only diagnostic to provideperformance data on a rapid antigen test specific for use on children 15 yearsand younger, including infants,” said Abbott. They also claimed that the testis professional, has 97.6% specificity and 95.7% sensitivity.
“We are targeting three segments–home testing (self-testing); assisted testing in clinics, labs, etc; and third is ‘return to work’segment. As corporates start opening up, airline travel picks up, educationalinstitutions re-open, and hotels resume hosting clients, there is hugepotential for such point of care Covid19 testing,” Venu said. They said that afew million kits but no number was provided.
This kit can be used in homes, markets, workspaces, laboratoriesas well as in professional testing. The vice president of the company’sdiagnostics business in Asia stated that this test machine is really importantin fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic; he also stated that the kit has 4large pack sizes, one available at INR 325 at the retailer. As the choice ofsize increases, the price becomes 280 per test kit.
The test is easy to use and not too complicated thecompany claimed, “People can take the test by using a simple nasal swab (notthe deep nasopharyngeal swab) while following the Instructions for Use steps onpack. For children younger than 14 years, an adult caretaker should helpcollect the nasal samples and conduct the test procedures. The kit contains allthe materials required including nasal swabs, test devices, and reagent ampules.No additional instrumentation is required to conduct the test.” The result declaresonly after 15 minutes, and it comes along NAVICA mobile application.
To date from August, the company has shipped 300million PanBio Covid-19 Antigen Rapid tests in more than 100 countries acrossAsia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, for professional use.