The first 10,000 Covid-19 rapid tests have been produced in Côte d’Ivoire by the Ivorian subsidiary of the German company Das Labor. GmbH. The company officially received a licence to manufacture rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 antigens last Friday, 13 August 2021.
Das Labor. GmbH began its activities in partnership with Ivorian biologists by investing in a state-of-the-art medical analysis laboratory in Cocody. To support the supply of biological diagnostics, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group committed to and invested in the production of rapid diagnostic tests in the VITIB free zone in Grand-Bassam, around 30 km east of Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire).
Das Labor. set up the mobile production line over the past few months and officially began production on 13 August 2021. DAS LABOR – BIODIAGNOSTIC, holder of a manufacturing licence, thus becomes the first manufacturer of rapid tests and in particular of COVID-19 antigen tests in Côte d’Ivoire. In the first two days of operation, 10,000 COVID-19 antigen tests were produced. In the first month of production, the company plans to produce 100,000 tests. In this way, Das Labor. is responding to a major need in African countries, with a range of products that are essential if the pandemic is to be countered. The tests have been developed and certified in Germany, but are produced in Africa.
Development partnership
The production site was built and set up as part of a development partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, with the aim of achieving a production capacity of 5,000 to 10,000 tests per day. GIZ and Das Labor. are working together through develoPPP, a funding programme for sustainable business initiatives run by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). As part of this project, Das Labor. has undertaken to supply half of the rapid antigen tests produced during the first three months to public institutions at cost price. Das Labor. will continue to produce the tests beyond the duration of the project.
An evolving approach to greater equality
« The Covid-19 crisis is just the latest example of how Africa is still being neglected by the rest of the world, » says Tom Halgasch, CEO of Das Labor. Halgasch, a German businessman, has been working in Africa for 15 years in the health sector. At the time of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, masks and disinfectants were already scarce on the world market and unaffordable for developing countries.
Depending on demand, the mobile production system developed by Das Labor. is easily scalable. »We will be able to supply several countries in sub-Saharan Africa with our rapid tests, » says Halgasch.The rapid tests can be used everywhere, in hospitals and schools, businesses and supermarkets, administrations and restaurants, and especially in rural areas with little infrastructure.German quality standards.
German quality standards
The tests were originally developed by the German company Senova, which applies ISO-certified quality standards. Das Labor’s African production adheres to the same quality standards and submits its production protocols to Senova. The parent company of Das Labor. is KNAUER, the renowned manufacturer of scientific instruments which, among other things, has developed high-tech equipment for the production of the new mRNA vaccines.
The two German companies, Knauer and Senova, are strongly supporting the production activities for the tests and are pleased that skilled jobs and production capacity are being newly created in Africa.
Halgasch is convinced that Das Labor’s approach has potential implications far beyond the current COVID crisis: « We already have other tests in the pipeline. For example, a rapid Ebola test that can also be produced locally ». Local production guarantees independence from the global market and helps save lives in the event of a medical emergency.
For more information, please refer to:
info@daslabor.com
www.daslabor.com
©Das Labor. GmbH
©Das Labor. GmbH
