Codix Bio Ltd, a Nigerian company, has announced plans to manufacture millions of HIV and malaria test kits at its new facility for use both locally and across the region.
As reported by Reuters on Thursday, the initiative aims to fill the gap created by funding reductions at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a US donor body.
Former US President Donald Trump had initiated a suspension of funding for HIV treatment in developing nations under an executive order concerning foreign aid.
These executive orders also disrupted the activities of USAID and other US-funded foreign aid programmes.
Speaking to Reuters, Olanrewaju Balaja, general manager of Codix Bio, said the plant located in Ogun state will begin distributing the test kits later this month.
He explained that the production will be done in partnership with SD Biosensor, a pharmaceutical firm based in South Korea, and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to him, the facility initially has the capacity to produce 147 million test kits annually, with potential expansion to over 160 million.
“From the statistics of what is supplied (by USAID and PEPFAR) for a specific programme year, and looking at what we have currently in capacity for Nigeria, we have enough capacity to meet the demand,” Balaja said.
He also indicated that the firm is prepared to expand its services to “West and Sub-Saharan Africa, including other African countries”.
“The focus was for us to be able to play in the field of supply of rapid diagnostic test kits for donor agencies, which particularly USAID was at the forefront,” Balaja added.
Balaja stated that both the Nigerian government and donor organisations such as the Global Fund are expected to source test kits from Codix Bio.
