Sector: Pharmaceutical, Chemical, Biotech

The Institute for Scientific Research and High Technology Services (INDICASAT AIP) joins efforts of the Ministry of Health (MINSA), the Gorgas Commemorative Institute for Health Studies (ICGES) and SENACYT (National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation), in the diagnosis and containment of COVID-19. In solidarity with the great work of health personnel nationwide, scientists have generated a prompt local response to address the shortage of the reagent necessary to transport patient samples to the GORGAS Memorial Institute for proper diagnosis. The INDICASAT AIP is preparing a solution for the MINSA and the GORGAS Commemorative Institute for Health Studies (ICGES) called "Viral Transport Means". This is the solution where the patient's sample is placed to send it to GORGAS to determine whether or not it has the virus. This solution has several components that keeps the virus in optimal conditions to be detected. Without this solution, the samples could start to come out as false negatives, and that would be an additional problem for the health system. Having the ability to formulate it here in Panama is very important, especially when international manufacturers are overwhelmed with so many orders from many countries, including the same countries where they are produced. This allows the diagnostic process to continue, which is vital to contain the epidemic. Right now, they produce almost 2,000 reagents used as culture medium for viral transport.