Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Two-minute COVID-19 antibody test kit set to hit market
Researchers work in a lab at the headquarters of genome sequencing company EDGC in Incheon. EDGC HealthCare, its subsidiary, says its rapid antibody test kits are ready for the market. Courtesy of EDGC
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
A Korean company's rapid antibody test kit for COVID-19, which can deliver results in just two minutes, is ready for mass production.
An official at EDGC HealthCare, a company known for its COVID-19 detection kit (DiaPlexQ), told The Korea Times Friday that its antibody test kit (COVID-19 IgM/IgG) recently attained CE marking, a certification that demonstrates conformity with health and safety standards for products sold in Europe.
“We are now waiting for an export permit from the Korea Food and Drug Administration. We have also been working on an export deal for 100,000 tests with a potential customer in Spain,” the official said.
With the detection and antibody test kits available, the government would be able to respond better to a potential second wave of the coronavirus infection in the fall, the company said in a statement.
The company said its antibody test kits can deliver results much faster than most other products, which take about 10 minutes.
The antibody test is a way of seeing if a person's immune system has responded to the virus. Accurate antibody tests could be useful for identifying blood donors for coronavirus research and helping scientists understand more about the illness for the ultimate goal of developing vaccines.