K-One gets approval for new nasal swabs variants

KUALA LUMPUR: K-One Technology Bhd’s (KOT) wholly-owned subsidiary, K-One MediTech Sdn Bhd (KMSB), has received an approval from Malaysia Medical Device Authority (MDA) to manufacture and supply additional variants of the nasal swabs.

The approval is timely as the government has made it mandatory for all foreign workers to be tested for Covid-19 effective from 1 January 2021.

This approval of five variants of nasal swab granted by MDA is on top of the one approved for its specific nasal swabs on 3 September 2020.

The additional variants differ in head designs, applicator lengths and break points to suit different market segment requirements.

It helps to meet the varying needs of children and adults who require different head diameter, applicator length and break point.

KOT will work aggressively with local distributors to intensify its marketing activities to sell its wide range of approved nasal swabs to public and private hospitals as well as test laboratories in Malaysia.

Aside from that, the group will also also tap into the rising demand in the overseas markets such as India, Indonesia, Philippines, Brazil, Spain, UK and US as most of these countries are enforcing tighter restrictions and pushing for more Covid-19 testing in order to contain the spread of infections.

To note, Malaysia has experienced a surge of Covid-19 cases, up to 108,615 as of 29 Dec 2020.

There are 21,443 active cases and death toll has risen to 457.

Factories have become a new hotbed for Covid-19 infections as seen by the rise in cases from manufacturing facilities from various sectors.

This has caused concerns among government and health officials, which called authorities and employers to look into improving the living and working conditions of factory staff, especially foreign workers.

The Ministry of Health has also stepped up its efforts to do mass screening in targeted hotspots in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19 infections.

This is likely to drive domestic demand for nasal swab, in tandem with the rise in Covid-19 testing and KOT is optimistic that the latest approval of its additional variants of nasal swabs will help to meet the surge in demand.

Source: NST