THE HEALTH | MAY-JUNE , 2022

BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN

In an announcement on May 17 , 2022 , Chembio said the kits would be manufactured at Chembio Diagnostics Malaysia Sdn Bhd ’ s ( CDM ) facility , which had previously suspended operations in May 2020 .

This new manufacturing arrangement will leverage CDM ’ s product and facility qualification by the World Health Organisation Prequalification Program and ISO 13485 certification . Chembio ’ s manufacturing abilities will be combined with Reszon ’ s resources and manufacturing strengths in the diagnostics space in this partnership .

Operations are expected to commence in the third quarter of 2022 , dependent on reaching certain quality , production , and other targets .

Chembio ’ s CEO and President Richard Eberly said : “ We are excited to be working with Reszon , a leader in Malaysian diagnostics test kits , to optimise our global manufacturing by leveraging our Malaysian resources . It represents a significant milestone in our Global Competitiveness Program to improve profitability .

“ We believe this new relationship will increase our capacity to supply new markets , bolster our competitiveness and strengthen our position in rapid point-ofcare testing .

“ We look forward to exploring commercial opportunities in Malaysia and other high-growth markets .”

From left : CDM Director Avijit Roy , Chembio Executive Vice President and Chief Science & Technology Officer Javan Esfandiari and Reszon CEO EL Law .

Chembio is a leading diagnostics company focused on developing and commercialising point-of-care tests to detect and diagnose infectious diseases , including sexually transmitted infections , insect vector and tropical disease , Covid-19 and other viral and bacterial infections , enabling expedited treatment .

Leveraging each other ’ s strengths With Chembio ’ s extensive scientific

Reszon ’ s CEO EL Law said : “ Chembio offers best-in-class technology , and we are confident we can significantly scale manufacturing of their tests . We are eager to work with the entire Chembio team and will expand our business in the Malaysian and international markets .

“ We see this as an excellent opportunity for both parties to leverage our strengths . We feel this can take us both to the next level of commercial success and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship .”

Reszon , established in 2010 , develops and manufactures a strong portfolio of innovative in-vitro diagnostics ( IVD ) rapid tests and ELISA kits for medical professionals , including clinical diagnostic markets worldwide .

It is the largest regional supplier of Covid-19 self-test kits , having supplied over 20 million kits in Southeast Asia . It is working to fully automate its manufacturing process to remain competitive in the worldwide market and provide the most costeffective self-testing diagnostics . — The Health

THE PANDEMIC has accelerated the growth of online delivery services into a multimillion-ringgit industry . The deliveries range from parcels to food to groceries .

According to the Statista Market Forecast in 2020 , Malaysia ’ s online food delivery market was valued at US $ 192 million , with 6.2 million consumers , and is expected to grow 17.9 per cent annually to achieve a revenue of US $ 370 million in four years .

Online food delivery services saw exceptional growth as people were confined to their homes and became reliant on takeouts . But it is a crowded field as many companies have jumped into the bandwagon in the last two years .

Most food delivery operators offer a wide selection of takeout meals from various F & B merchants . Even fast-food chains such as KFC , McDonald ’ s and PizzaHut have their own-curated online delivery services .

In Malaysia , there are two types of online food ordering and delivery services ; Super apps , which provide added services such as transport e-hailing and / or financial transactions , or pure food and / or grocery delivery platforms .

Foodpanda was the first food delivery company that started growing rapidly in Malaysia since its establishment in 2012 .

GrabFood and FoodPanda are the two biggest food delivery operators and cover significant cities nationwide with over 100 million and 50 million app installations . They have been in service for

Brand Type App Install Coverage GrabFood Super app 100M + Major cities nationwide Foodpanda Food & grocery delivery 50M + Major cities nationwide ShopeeFood Super app 10M + Klang Valley airasia food Super app 10M + Klang Valley , Penang , Ipoh EASI Food & grocery delivery 500K + Selected cities Bungkusit Food & parcel delivery 500K + Klang Valley , Penang , Terengganu , Ipoh , Johor DeliverEat Food delivery 100K + Klang Valley , Penang LOLOL Food & grocery delivery 100K + Klang Valley , Melaka , Johor GemSpot Table booking & food delivery 100K + Klang Valley Beep Delivery Food delivery 50K + Klang Valley , Penang , Johor

the past decade .

Other platforms capturing a growing portion of Malaysia ’ s food delivery market share include :

• airasia food

• ShopeeFood

• EASI

• BungkusIt

• Delivery Eat

• LOLOL

• GemSpot

• Beep Delivery

• Tapau However , it also raises the question of whether this industry is tightly regulated by the authorities to ensure the players involved practice the highest hygiene standards . — The Health