Dr Raul Destura

The microbiologist and infectious disease expert goes into detail on how his team was able to formulate the much-talked about 1,320-peso test kit, which has aided in the calls for mass testing

The director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, deputy executive director of the Philippine Genome Center, and consultant-director of the Molecular Diagnostic and Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of The Medical City has made noteworthy contributions to research and development in his field of expertise. His work puts emphasis on low-cost, low-technology driven diagnostic kits for infectious diseases, such as the Lab-in-a-Mug device, a faster and more affordable diagnostic kit for dengue.

“Before the end of December,” the doctor recalls, “there were already some observations of weird respiratory diseases reported in China. Then, the Chinese authorities released the whole genome sequence of the virus to the public, for everyone to be able to prepare. This triggered my confidence that my team can come up with a test kit. In the diagnostic world, if you know the genome sequence, you can design diagnostic tests.”

Destura assembled a team of scientists from the University of the Philippines National Institute of Health (UP-NIH) and the Philippine Genome Center to begin developing what would become the GenAmplify™ COVID-19 rRT-PCR Detection Kit. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Philippine Council for Health, Research, and Development, work on the kit involved two weeks of laborious processes, with each step repeated from 40 up to 60 times to confirm effectiveness.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first granted the kit a Certificate of Exemption, permitting field testing with gene sequencing from 1-10 March. It was green lit for commercial use on 3 April, when the FDA issued a certificate of product registration following the submission of the necessary requirements. This kit can accommodate up to 120,000 tests, which employ a single step multiple detection system with a short one- to two-hour turnaround time, ensuring faster transmission of results. Prioritised for manufacturing are 1,300 test kits which will be distributed to several institutions across the country. The remaining kits will be sold by Manila HealthTek at 1,320 pesos per kit—much more affordable than majority of its foreign counterparts—making mass testing more accessible.

“Prioritised for manufacturing are 1,300 test kits which will be distributed to several institutions across the country” – Dr Raul Destura