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EDGC renews COVID-19 sample transport kit deal with Colorado

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Researchers at EDGC in Songdo Island, Incheon, prepare samples for liquid biopsy using plasma separation. Courtesy of EDGC
Researchers at EDGC in Songdo Island, Incheon, prepare samples for liquid biopsy using plasma separation. Courtesy of EDGC

By Ko Dong-hwan

Genetic sequencing firm Eone Diagnomics Genome Center (EDGC) has renewed its deal with the American state of Colorado to provide more universal transport medium (UTM) kits for COVID-19, the company told The Korea Times on Oct. 21.

The new contract binds the Songdo Island-based global firm in Incheon to send 1.4 million UTM kits for Colorado residents.

A UTM kit comprises nasopharyngeal swab, oropharyngeal swab and viral transport medium (VTM).

According to EDGC, VTM, with a red indicator, makes visible any outside-bound contamination. Antibiotics preventing bacterial contamination and stabilizer preventing disintegration of virus nucleic acids ― critical component of diagnosing COVID-19 ― also allow VTM to perform "ultra-precision" diagnosis on the coronavirus.

The United States Food and Drug Administration approved the kit's use.

The contract follows the previous bilateral deal worth $13 million in last April, with which the firm agreed to provide DiaPlexQ ― polymer chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic kits for COVID-19 ― to Colorado for a long term. Since the signing, EDGC has sent DiaPlexQ kits good for 700,000 tests as well as UTM kits for 1.3 million tests.

EDGC has been exporting DiaPlexQ ― approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration, American FDA and Europe's CE-IVD ― to the United States, the Middle East and the Europe.

Since September, when EDGC acquired EDGC Healthcare, the company established a unified, stronger pipeline to produce South Korea's globally acknowledged "K-epidemic prevention" products ranging from DiaPlexQ to rapid disease test kits and masks.


Ko Dong-hwan aoshima11@koreatimes.co.kr


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