ZURICH (SWITZERLAND): Achiko AG, headquartered in Zurich, and PT Indonesia Farma Medis (PIFM), a medical device & pharma distribution company, have signed an agreement to establish a Joint Venture (JV) company PT Achiko Medika Indonesia (PAMI) for the production, distribution and marketing of its testing platform developed from 'Project Gumnuts' for Indonesia. 'Project Gumnuts' is a patent pending diagnostic testing kit for the detection of COVID-19.
Khairudin Gustam, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PIFM said, "As COVID-19 cases across Indonesia have surged past the one million mark and the contagiousness of the disease continues to severely disrupt the economy, the need for mass market testing becomes apparent. The economy needs to find a way to function, but given the size and population of Indonesia, reliance on PCR testing is not enough. Additional testing methods for COVID-19 are needed and we believe the 'Project Gumnuts' technology is a key solution to help the country and the economy get back on their feet." According to sources, Indonesia is currently recording the highest number of cases, rates of positivity and fatality rates in Southeast Asia.
Phase-1 testing for 'Project Gumnuts' has been concluded recently, achieving preliminary values of 91% sensitivity and 85% specificity. Further optimization studies are currently being conducted in Spain and Indonesia to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. "We are proud to be involved with Achiko's development and look forward to the availability of Gumnuts for Indonesians, as most low cost rapid tests are too expensive for daily testing. The price point and convenience that Gumnuts can offer will enable tens of millions of people the ability to test almost daily. This will be a powerful tool in stopping the spread and beating COVID-19 and other pathogens," said Mayor of Pekanbaru in Indonesia, Dr H. Firdaus S.T., M.T.
Achiko will hold 50% of the PAMI joint venture. PIFM and Achiko will jointly manufacture and assemble 'Project Gumnuts' test kits for the Indonesian market, with PIFM tasked with the distribution & marketing, and Achiko earning a 10% licensing fee from gross sales. Also, part of the JV is a contract with PT Mitra Asa Pratama, a leading distributor of medical & diagnostic devices in Indonesia; and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PT Pharos Indonesia, one of Indonesia's largest pharma conglomerates; along with several other companies, which are all subject to regulatory approval. All the companies will help with further distribution and marketing of the testing kits.
"This JV is a major milestone for Achiko and a precursor to an imminent filing for product registrations and approvals in Indonesia," said Steven Goh, CEO of Achiko. "Through PAMI, we have some of the best possible partners we can have to make a testing platform based on 'Projects Gumnuts', first with version 1.5 of our product and then many more to come. With comprehensive low-cost rapid and near universal testing, we can help Indonesia beat the COVID-19 pandemic," he further stated. "Next steps are the completion of regulatory approvals, getting the technology into testing kits and moving them into the market as soon as practicable," concluded Achiko spokesperson in the press statement.
