Ensuring affordable and good quality ART kits

We refer to Mr Zhang Guocheng’s letter (“设法降低快速抗原检测仪零售价”, 19 Nov).

The Ministry of Health (MOH) recognises that cost of ART kits is a concern, which is why we have conducted two rounds of distribution of free kits to households in Singapore. We are also bringing in more ART self-test kits, including those which are more affordable and meet quality standards.

To date, there are nine antigen rapid test (ART) self-test kits locally approved for sale to consumers. Recently, two additional test kits have met our quality standards, and are now undergoing registration by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) under the Pandemic Special Access Route (PSAR). We expect these kits to be priced significantly below the current prices of ART kits.

We are aware of cheaper ART kits manufactured and sold overseas, and have reviewed many of these kits, but they either did not offer sufficiently robust clinical data, or did not pass our subsequent validation testing.

MOH continues to work towards having more options for ART kits that meet quality standards, and to keep the prices of ART kits competitive.

Dr Liu Jiaming
Head, Technology Evaluation & Implementation Unit
Ministry of Health

刘佳铭 医生
技术评估与实施小组 主任
卫生部