SD BIOSENSOR, a global bio-diagnostic company, donated 5,000 Standard Q Antigen Test Kits to typhoon survivors in evacuation centers where social distancing is a challenge. The donation was made in response to the call of Presidential spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque to roll out Covid-19 antigen testing, especially in highly vulnerable Local Government Units.
“We support our government’s efforts in controlling the spread of the virus, especially in typhoon affected shelters where risk of infection is high. Testing is at the forefront of the response to the COVID 19 pandemic and a comprehensive package of high quality, affordable tests that provide reliable and immediate results is key,” said Madeline Pajarillo, President of Trulaboratories Corporation, which represents SD Biosensor in the Philippines.
The company donated the antigen kits to areas heavily affected by typhoon Ulysses, such as Marikina and Rodriguez (Montalban) province. Marikina Councilors Angel Nunez and Donn Carlo Favis, and Rodriguez councilor by Arnold Rivera received the donations on behalf of their constituents.
SD Biosensor Antigen Test is the first Antigen Test kit approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its Emergency Use Listing and is one of the two brands from which the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will be acquiring 120 million kits. The antigen kits will be rolled out to low- and middle-income countries, including the Philippines.
SD Biosensor Antigen Test has been validated by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) and has yielded a Sensitivity by Cycle Threshold (CT) Value < 30 of 93.1 percent (refer to RITM Report, Table 3), which meets the minimum Clinical Sensitivity (below CT Value of 30) requirement of WHO and Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) of 80 percent (refer to Department of Health Memo 2020-0468).