[이코노믹리뷰=황진중 기자] In the United States, the demand for self-diagnosis kits for COVID-19 is soaring, resulting in a shortage. Celltrion (068270)’s Corona 19 self-diagnosis kit ‘Dia Trust’, which was recently added to the online distribution platform Amazon sales list, is out of stock.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 6th, there is a shortage of self-diagnostic kits in the United States. It seems that the demand for self-diagnostic kits has increased as the COVID-19 omicron mutant virus has rapidly spread.
Walmart announced that it would raise the price of the product to $19.98 (regarding 24,000 won) following the contract with the White House to sell the self-test kit at $14 (regarding 16,800 won) expires. Kroger, which is rated as the third largest retailer in the United States, sells self-diagnostic kits for $23.99 (regarding KRW 28,800).
As self-diagnostic kits become rare in the United States, Celltrion’s Corona 19 self-diagnostic kit, The Aust, sold through Amazon is also sold out. Celltrion started selling the COVID-19 rapid antigen self-diagnosis kit jointly developed with Humasys (205470) in the U.S. following entering the online shopping mall Amazon. The Trust is being sold on Amazon for $24.7 (regarding 29,600 won).
Celltrion promoted its entry into the Amazon open market. Amazon said that it wanted to sign a direct distribution and sales contract with Celltrion rather than entering the open market. It is a system in which Amazon directly purchases and sells THEATRUST from Celltrion USA, an American corporation, without going through a local wholesaler, and is responsible for delivery.
A Celltrion official said, “We are supplying quantities through direct contract with Amazon.
A Celltrion official explained, “There is a lot of demand for COVID-19 self-diagnosis kits in the US, so supply is tight.” Theatrust is a COVID-19 self-test kit that obtained emergency use approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October last year.
Previously, Celltrion also signed a supply contract with the US Department of Defense’s Public Procurement Service (DLA) in September of last year worth up to 738.2 billion won for professional TheaTrust products. According to a correction announcement in December of last year, Celltrion’s contract for a self-diagnostic kit for the US Department of Defense was 200.4 billion won. After supplying 167.3 billion won the previous month, the 33 billion won supply increased.
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