Bioalpha to supply Covid-19 test kits, services to South Sudan

(www.thesundaily.my)

PETALING JAYA: Bioalpha Holdings Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary Bioalpha (HK) Limited has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Crawford Laboratory Limited of South Sudan to exclusively undertake Covid-19 screening services that could fetch a revenue of US$48 million (RM200 million) at two locations in South Sudan over a two-year period.

Bioalpha managing director William Hon said the revenue, using the US$20 fee for local as benchmark, would be shared between the group and Crawford at a pre-agreed split.

“As agreed in the MOA, Bioalpha will supply 100,000 test kits per month to South Sudan. Apart from the two locations, we will also be exploring opportunities to extend the test facilities to other entry points into the country,“ he said in a statement.

The MoA is an initiative led by the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat to enhance healthcare products and services including Covid-19 screening in the region, with expectation to establish similar programmes in other member states. The EAC is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. The combined population size of the six nations is about 180 million.

Under the MoA, Bioalpha will deliver Covid-19 screening equipment and products, including Rapid Test Kit and Polymerase Chain Reaction test kits, to South Sudan.

The group will also be conducting virtual training for the proper utilisation of the equipment while Crawford will be overseeing the operational aspects of the programme, which include obtaining approval from and liaising with relevant local authorities to execute the testing as well as providing the necessary manpower.

For the initial stage of the programme, testing facilities will be installed at two key entry points into the country, namely the Nimule border checkpoint and Juba International Airport.

All inbound travellers into South Sudan are compulsorily required to take the Covid-19 test. As for the pricing, an RTK test, which will be prominently used, is priced at about US$20 for locals and US$50 for foreigners.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Bioalpha expects to deliver its first shipment of Covid-19 screening products in early August.