South Korea has been leading the world when it comes to combating the spread of the coronavirus since the beginning. Countries have been looking at South Korea when it comes to importing Korean COVID-19 test kits. Coronavirus test kit manufacturers in Korea have seen their company value skyrocket. The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) which is one of WHO’s (World Health Organization) partners, states that there are over 275 COVID-19 diagnostic kits that are used worldwide. Of those kits, over 140 are molecular diagnostic kits. Most of those come from China, but South Korea comes in second.

As new variants continue to emerge, it will be critical to have enough supplies of COVID-19 test kits for 2022 and beyond.

Below are some of the top COVID-19 test kit manufacturers in South Korea.

List of Coronavirus Test Kit Manufacturers in Korea

Seegene

Korean diagnostics company, Seegene is responsible for increasing competition by developing advanced products. Their test kit called the Allplex 2019-nCoV Assey can simultaneously detect 18 types of infectious diseases such as pneumonia, influenza, and of course COVID-19. The test kit can perform 1,000 tests simultaneously and deliver the diagnosis in less than 4 hours.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Seegene worked with university hospitals in Korea to test specimens from patients for diagnoses. They are considered one of the top coronavirus test kit manufacturers in Korea and supply 90% of its covid-19 test kit exports to 45 countries. In March of 2020, the Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors bought 20,000 test kits from Seegene.

Furthermore, in March of 2021, Seegene finished the development of the world’s first-ever variant diagnostic test that can simultaneously detect COVID-19 and screen multiple virus variants, with a single multiplex real-time PCR testing.

Genematrix

Genematrix will also be launching a test kit that detects not only COVID-19 but also 18 other types of respiratory infections. Their COVID-19 test kit is called NeoPlex COVID-19. It has been exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Italy, Chile, and Lithuania. The NeoPlex test kit also satisfies the requirements set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The test kit will show the result of the test within three hours by using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In addition, Genematrix has also signed a contract to provide its COVID-19 test kits to UNICEF.

SolGent

SolGent was part of the first “bulk” order from the U.S. federal government. Their test kit (DiaplexQ N Coronavirus Detection kit) can detect the E gene and the RdRP gene strains of the virus. The whole testing process takes less than 2 hours. They have already sent 100,000 COVID-19 test kits to Ukraine. Furthermore, SolGent has received approval for its emergency use and export from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

Genbody

Genbody is a global diagnostic company based in Korea. They were approved by the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to supply Genbody’s COVID-19 Ag test kits. The test yields an accuracy of 94% making it one of the most accurate tests available in India. Furthermore, the results will come back within 15 minutes.

Kogene BioTech

Korean BioTech company Kogene BioTech is the manufacturer of detection kits called PowerChek for previous diseases such as MERS and H1N1 influenza. Therefore it only took ten days for Kogene Biotech to develop a COVID-19 detection kit. It uses real-time PCR and yields results in 6 hours. In addition, they were the first supplier of a COVID-19 detection kit in South Korea. Currently, they export their COVID-19 test kits to over 37 countries including 7 countries in Latin America.

Sugentech

Korean IVD test kit maker Sugentech is looking to add a new fast-acting antigen diagnostic kit to its portfolio. They already have test kits for neutralizing antibodies and quantitative diagnosis. Sugentech signed an agreement to export three different types of diagnostic kits for COVID-19 in the United States and Europe. In addition, they will be sending a total of 200,000 rapid antigen kits to Germany in order to detect the COVID-19 virus.

Bioneer

Korean biotech company Bioneer won approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to conduct a clinical trial of multi-diagnostic kits that can detect COVID-19 as well as the seasonal flu. In addition, Bioneer is in the process of a separate clinical trial for European approval. They already have a $5.5 million agreement with Indonesia to supply them with COVID test kits. While there are many South Korean COVID-19 test kit makers, Bioneer is the only company that produces machines that can read the test kits.

SD Biosensor

SD Biosensor was part of the first “bulk” order from the U.S. federal government. They are the developers of the Standard M nCoV RT Detection kit which detects the E gene and the RdRP gene strains. Furthermore, the antigen kit is capable of detecting the coronavirus infection within 30 minutes.

Osang Healthcare

Osang Healthcare was part of the first “bulk” order from the U.S. federal government. In addition, they won the U.S. FDA approval for emergency use of their COVID-19 test kit (GeneFinder). It uses a molecular diagnostic method to check for COVID-19 using real-time RT-PCR. In addition, Osang Healthcare received European certification (CE-IVD) and local regulatory approval for exports. The company has already sent its kits to Italy, Romania, Morocco, Russia, and Brazil.

QSTAG

Korean biotech startup QSTAG provides a comprehensive digital health care solution through their self-care COVID test kits. It is not only easy to use but affordable. They have developed a product called QS-Check+, an electrochemical-based disposable kit loaded with an immunologic biosensor that can detect a specific type of virus or protein.