RE: Test Design5 Jun 2020 13:35
Interesting article on South Korean diagnostics company Seegene
Chun launched Seegene in 2000 with a 300 million Korean won investment from his uncle (about $240,000 in today’s dollars). For the first three years, Seegene had zero revenue. “Even though it was a difficult time, I was determined to do this,” says Chun. “If I produce something extraordinary, then all of the world will be watching.”
Seegene developed kits for diagnosing respiratory, digestive, sexually transmitted diseases and cancers, but found few takers at local hospitals, Chun recalls. It was abroad where Seegene finally found its market: 82% of Seegene’s revenue now comes from exports. The U.S. and Europe are Seegene’s major markets. Chun says he has traveled all over the world to personally demonstrate Seegene’s tests, and credits that for the company’s global success. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the company's net income last year more than doubled to $23 million on a 19% increase in sales, to $105.3 million. Seegene’s stock has more than doubled since January to a recent 88,100 Korean won, and the company sports a market cap close to $2 billion.
Seegene’s test resides in a single test tube, where it identifies three target genes present in Covid-19. Because it streamlines the testing process, it takes a tenth the time of manual tests and reduces the risk of human error in diagnosis.
While other tests look for the presence of antibodies, Seegene’s uses what’s called a polymerase chain reaction to spot the virus present in body fluids before antibodies form. Such molecular diagnostics—in contrast to older immunodiagnostics—are faster and more accurate, Chun says. It also means people infected with Covid-19 can be spotted before they show any symptoms.
In addition to stemming the spread of the coronavirus, Chun sees his testing approach as a victory for molecular diagnostics. “In ten years,” he says, “I aim to make molecular diagnosis easier, affordable and widespread.”
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