On Mar. 20, 2020, Chembio Diagnostics announced receipt of a $4 million order from Bio-Manguinhos for the purchase of Chembio’s DPP COVID-19 IgM/IgG System, to support the urgent needs of Brazil’s Ministry of Health. Bio-Manguinhos is a subsidiary of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) that is responsible for the development and production of vaccines, diagnostics and biopharmaceuticals, primarily to meet demands of Brazil’s national public health system.

Chembio has a long-standing relationship with Bio-Manguinhos, having supplied multiple products for point-of-care detection of HIV and other infectious diseases. Chembio’s Brazilian subsidiary had filed for ANVISA approval of the DPP COVID-19 IgM/IgG System under the emergency use authorization program.

The DPP COVID-19 IgM/IgG System is a single-use rapid point-of-care test for the detection and differentiation of IgM and IgG antibodies to COVID-19 in whole blood, via fingerstick using Chembio’s handheld analyzer, which achieved ANVISA approval and CE Mark during 2019. The System is intended for use in clinical and point-of-care settings to aid in the diagnosis of SARS‑CoV-2 infection.