Seegene said Wednesday that it would export 1.7 million Covid-19 diagnostic reagents to Israel on a chartered flight.
This is the second time in December that the company has exported its Covid-19 diagnostic reagent, following 2.8 million doses to Europe on a chartered flight on Dec. 19.
Seegene said that the reagents could detect the Omicron variant, recently spreading globally.
The company started transporting diagnostic reagents by chartered plane to meet urgent mass demands after the global surge of the Omicron variants.
Omicron, a transmission speed of three to five times faster than Delta, has become a dominant variant mainly in Europe. The spread of the variant is so rapid that it has become difficult to carry out daily activities in Europe, with EU countries reporting more than 100,000 confirmed cases per day.
Israel has confirmed more than 1,300 Covid-19 cases lately, the highest since mid-October.
The Israeli government said it would provide the fourth dose of vaccination for those aged 60 and older and medical workers and import diagnostic reagents to respond to the situation preemptively.
Seegene prepared to send the charter in close cooperation with Hy Laboratories, an Israeli partner of Seegene, and will only carry Covid-19 diagnostic reagents and related consumables.
The diagnostic reagent exported to Israel is Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Master Assay.
It targets four types of existing Covid-19 virus genes -- E, RdRP, N, and S gene -- and five types of mutation core -- HV 69/70 deletion, Y144 deletion, E484K, N501Y, and P681H.
The wide range of tests make it possible to detect not only Covid-19 but also Omicron variant with a single test, the company said.