NEW YORK – The US Department of Defense this week announced it has awarded South Korean diagnostics firm Celltrion up to $626 million and Abbott up to $554 million to supply rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2.
Celltrion's US subsidiary will supply its DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test to sites across the country as part of the procurement contract, which has an order volume up to $626 million, depending on demand due to COVID-19 transmission rates, the firm said in a statement.
Celltrion USA will deliver its POC tests to 25,000 military bases, long-term care facilities, community testing sites, critical infrastructure, and other designated places on a weekly basis, the company said in a statement.
The company's large-scale production facility in Korea will support the demand for the contract volume, Celltrion added.
The DiaTrust test received Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in April for use by healthcare providers.
The qualitative test uses two antibodies to bind to the N and S proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and has a sensitivity of 93 percent, with a specificity of 99 percent. It returns results in 15 minutes, the Incheon, South Korea-based firm said.
Celltrion's contract follows an announcement from the US DoD earlier this week that it has awarded $647 million in procurement contracts for over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits from OraSure Technologies, Quidel, Abbott, and Intrivo Holdings.
The earlier $47.8 million contract to Abbott covers the delivery of 3.8 million over-the-counter COVID-19 tests.