“Roche Diagnostics Korea is fully prepared for all the scenarios of the Covid-19 situation.”

Johnny Tse, General Manager of Roche Diagnostics Korea, said so during a group interview with medical device-covering reporters, explaining how the diagnostics industry would respond to Covid-19.

Korea’s response to the unprecedented pandemic has been excellent, but the nation needs to prepare for various future situations, Tse said.

“Compared to other countries, Korea has been controlling Covid-19 well. But it needs to prepare for the next stage,” Tse said. “Most Covid-19 tests use PCR (polymerase chain reaction), but we may need antibody/antigen tests, rapid testing for crossing borders, or tests based on the progress of the disease (Covid-19).”

Diagnostics companies should also prepare for unpredictable changes in the pandemic situation, he warned. He said they should develop diagnostic methods and equipment, obtain approval, and prepare stocks under each scenario of different situations.

“If other countries introduced different testing methods, the companies should share information with the Korean government. Roche Diagnostics is monitoring and thoroughly preparing for various situations,” he added.

Tse said his concerns for the company’s performance this year grew because Covid-19 hit the company’s sales activities earlier this year.

While Covid-19 affects the entire global economy, companies in Korea were relatively less hit, Tse said.

“Although we had some shocks early this year, the pandemic’s impact is ebbing in the second half of the year,” he said.

This year ends in one and a half months, but the company will be able to achieve its early goal if it boosts sales activities, he predicted.

Unlike other drugmakers trying to reduce manpower amid Covid-19, Roche Diagnostics Korea plans to increase investment in Korea, Tse noted.

“We have a positive outlook on the Korean market. Although Covid-19 had a short-term impact, the Korean in vitro diagnostics industry has a bright future in the long term. This market has many opportunities,” he said. “We plan to continue to invest in Korea. There is no plan to reduce manpower amid Covid-19. Rather, we will increase investment depending on market conditions.”

Citing Roche Diagnostics Korea’s history of 30 years, Tse gave the company a high credit for helping to automate diagnostic laboratories.

“We’ve introduced various technologies and equipment in Korea, and one of them, which I’m most proud of, is the automated laboratory,” he said.

According to Tse, the company began to help Korean laboratories get an automated system 10 years ago. This made it possible to process large volumes of samples quickly and safely, he said.

The amount of sample-related work is increasing in laboratories, and the company is upgrading automation systems to catch up, he added.

The Korean offshoot of Roche Diagnostics began the local business in 1990. For the past three decades, the company released products that combined tissue diagnostics, molecular diagnostics, and IT.

The company introduced in vitro diagnostic devices and research equipment in Korea, such as the popular diabetes meter Accu-Check, integrated solution for clinical chemistry and immunology testing Cobas 8000, a real-time PCR virus test system, a gene analyzer, and gene amplification analysis equipment.