Halt the use of inaccurate Chinese lateral flow tests, with most already banned by the likes of the FDA.
The British Government could be facing calls to explain the ‘baffling’ decision to rely on securing Chinese-made testing kits. On Friday, figures in the diagnostics industry pointed to a slew of legal actions against Boris Johnson’s Government by the Good Law Project to explain the “baffling” decision not to build manufacturing capability in the UK.
- British manufacturers are reportedly frustrated by strict UK new tests
- Only a single British company, SureScreen, is authorized to provide lateral flow testing to the UK
- Two Chinese companies are relied upon by the government to fulfil its testing requirements
Reports suggest that despite millions of pounds being invested to establish a leading testing program in the UK, only one British manufacturer produced a quick test that met UK standards.
The UK has a wealth of capability and hundreds of millions per week capacity to provide accurate lateral flow tests during a global shortage yet the UK Government have opted to deny all access to the likes of Avacta PLC, Abingdon Health and Omega Diagnostics, which has also included these companies in legal battles to recover monies invested on the agreement with the DHSC and UK Government to provide manufacturing capacity.
Novacyt SA, Genedrive, and Braveheart Investment Group are other British companies in the pharmaceutical space.
The significant homegrown, UK diagnostic industry is being crippled by the UK Government only seeking to use billions of pounds of inadequate Chinese tests. This has to stop and the UK Government must support UK companies
