Celltrion companies shares rally on test kit procurement deal in U.S.

[Photo provided by Celltrion Group]

Shares of three Celltrion Group companies jumped on Thursday after the group’s U.S. subsidiary won a deal to supply its Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits to 25,000 facilities in the country.

Celltrion announced on Thursday that Celltrion USA was picked as a supplier by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to provide its rapid Covid-19 test kit named DiaTrust™ to 25,000 major facilities including military bases, community testing stations and long-term care facilities by September 16, 2022. The deal value could reach $626 million, the largest among the suppliers.

On Thursday, Kospi-listed Celltrion shares gained 3.27 percent to end at 284,500 won. Kosdaq-listed Celltrion Pharm jumped 6.77 percent to 164,000 won and Celltrion Healthcare up 1.78 percent to 119,800 won.

Diatrust jointly developed by Celltrion and Humasis was authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 16. Humasis’ large-scale manufacturing capability also helped the companies win the contract.

DiaTrust diagnoses Covid-19 infection within 15 minutes by recognizing a specific surface antigen of the virus. It features maximized sensitivity based on a 'dual antigen' method that detects both antigens. The sensitivity of the clinical results was 93.3 percent, while the specificity was 99 percent.

DiaTrust has two types – point-of-care test (POCT) for healthcare professionals and over-the-counter (OTC) for ordinary people. For the recent deal with the U.S. DLA, the company will deliver POCT kits that received the FDA emergency use authorization.

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