COVID-19 test kit maker to open site in Wales as demand continues to rise

The chief executive of the world's biggest manufacturer of COVID-19 testing devices has said he expects demand for lateral flow test equipment to remain high for years, after announcing what he called "large investments" in the United Kingdom to make tests for domestic and international use.

Publicly available figures reveal that, so far in the pandemic, the British government has spent more than 100 million pounds ($141 million) on transporting tests made by California-based Innova and others from China, and it is hoped the new production facility, the precise location of which has not yet been revealed, will be making millions of units each day later this summer.

"The UK is a key market to us," Dan Elliott, Innova chief executive, told the Financial Times. "We've been a good partner to the (UK) government, the government's been a good partner to us."

Elliott said the revival of international travel was bound to have an impact on variants of the novel coronavirus, which is why demand for testing kits is likely to continue for the next few years.

"When you look at it, the more we travel the more mixing of variants there will be," he added.

Contracts published this week by the Department for Health and Social Care, or DHSC, show that, since February, in the run-up to the planned lifting of all lockdown restrictions in England in June, the government has spent more than 3 billion pounds on lateral flow tests. Inews reports that Innova has the largest contract, potentially worth more than 1 billion pounds, to supply devices manufactured in China.

Elliott told the FT that the company had been ahead of its rivals in the early days of the pandemic, in terms of product development and manufacturing capability, and it hopes to be producing 50 million tests each day by the end of the year.

The start of production in Wales will be a welcome boost to testing capability in the UK, as despite the huge amount of money that has been spent, and the large number of contracts made available, just one UK-based producer, SureScreen of Derbyshire, has so far been a successful supplier.

In February, the Business Live website reported that SureScreen had secured a 6-million-pound contract, creating 200 jobs. Prior to the UK supply contract, it had also supplied testing kits to countries including Germany, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and Peru.

"We believe our rapid antigen tests can really help in screening people both in the community and in clinical settings," said company director David Campbell.

"Routine testing is crucial to help business, as well as hospitals and GPs. We are delighted to be working with DHSC on this project and that our tests have been recognized by the government and its scientists."