Medriva™ COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Kits to Launch at Mannings, Largest Pharmacy Chain in Hong Kong; Company to Donate $4 Million of Test Kits to NGOs to help fight Omicron Wave as Mass Rapid Testing (MRT) becomes the future for controlling future outbreaks
HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 15 February
2022 -Medriva™
COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Kits will be made available across Hong Kong through
its partnership with Mannings, announced by leading global medical product
supplierProcureNet.
The Company will launch its Medriva™ COVID-19 Rapid
Antigen Test Kit at Mannings, the largest pharmacy chain in Hong Kong with 366
stores as the city fights its biggest battle with the pandemic.
The agreement comes days after Medriva won TGA approval by
the Australian Government to market and sell the Medriva COVID-19 Rapid Antigen
Test Kit, which provides quick and easy detection via a nasal swab of a
COVID-19 viral infection.
Medriva is one of the most effective test kits on the
market, having a 95% "sensitivity rate" and a 99% "relative specificity" rate.
Its overall effectiveness is 97%. The results meet the World Health
Organization's recommended performance standards.
"Mannings has rigorously assessed our antigen test kit for
safety, quality and effectiveness," commented ProcureNet chief executive
Gurbaksh Chahal. Founded in 2020, Medriva had a successful launch through its
strong government partner network, including organizations such as WHO, UNICEF,
Health Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, Turkey, and over a dozen states in the USA.
"Mannings' distribution enables us to supply the Medriva
Antigen Test Kit to help Hong Kong residents in their early detection of the
virus and provides ProcureNet with the opportunity to scale up to meet future
demand there."
He added: "We look forward to teaming up with Mannings to
prevent the spread in Hong Kong. This will provide residents with the most
cost-effective solution on the market and added assurance during the latest
Omicron outbreak."
On Monday, the city was hit with another record-breaking
2,071 new confirmed cases and about 4,500 preliminary infections. The test kits
availability will also mean Hong Kong locals no longer have to face eight-hour
waits for kits.
The Company will donate $4 million worth of Rapid Antigen
Test Kits to the following NGOs to help distribute rapid antigen test kits to
underprivileged communities: The Community Chest of Hong Kong, Caritas Hong
Kong, Hong Kong Red Cross and Pok Oi Hospital. The kits will be distributed
amongst the community and shared amongst the front-line staff assisting
patients during the pandemic.
Chahal said, "Hong Kong has a special place in all of our
hearts, and this is just a small token of our gratitude to help this city
recover from the recent Omicron wave. We look forward to working with these
NGOs at the grassroots level to help distribute these test kits to the
underprivileged groups to ease any burden for the well being of the community."
As countries begin to live with COVID-19, mass rapid testing becomes the
main tool to control future outbreaks. Eliminating the virus through stringent
lockdown and quarantine measures, and treating it as endemic, are often
discussed as mutually exclusive strategies. Frequent and widespread adoption of
at-home antigen rapid testing could offer the best of both worlds. And, we look
forward to helping Hong Kongers by bringing the most cost-effective diagnostic
solutions to them.
Chahal asserted: "Whatever we do now is preparation
for the next variant wave or future pandemics. Self-testing is already as easy
as other hygiene routines, like brushing teeth. We know it can be made as cheap
as a daily commute. When that happens, we can crush the pandemic with a new
kind of 'MRT': mass rapid testing," said Chahal.
The company will extend its production capacity of 60
million rapid antigen test kits per month to Hong Kong. Medriva also plans to
make the kits available on Amazon, HKTVMall, and other pharmacies in Hong Kong.
ProcureNet is a leading global leader of pharmaceutical
materials and vaccines consumables. Medriva is the company's B2B brand for its
own consumable products.
Founded by serial entrepreneur Gurbaksh Chahal, the company
connects government, international world organizations and large businesses to
a vast network of pre-approved on-demand manufacturers that produce the world's
most sought-after commodities at rapid speed and tremendous scale.
ProcureNet's rise came due to strong social impact values as
the company provided life-saving medical equipment and materials to aid in the
treatment of COVID-19 during the most critical times of the pandemic.