BIONEER CORPORATION

On December 17, BIONEER(064550) announced that it developed a diagnostics test that can detect Omicron alone and a test that can distinguish between Omicron and Delta variants.

BIONEER is the first company in Korea to develop two tests at once. The development of these tests is an achievement of cooperation with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BIONEER expects the two tests to fulfill emergency demands as various governments are announcing quarantine policies to block the Omicron variant that is rapidly spreading.

BIONEER explained the background to develop the test that distinguishes between Omicron and Delta variants, which is related to the severeness of symptoms. As Omicron patients show "fairly mild" symptoms, Delta patients face a risk of "severe" symptoms. Thus, patients can get appropriate and prompt treatments if the variants are distinguished.

BIONEER has already developed and launched the COVID-19 variant diagnostics tests for the alpha, delta, delta+ variants, in both domestic and international markets. It is the only biotechnology company in Korea to provide comprehensive solutions to molecular diagnostics, producing from raw materials, equipment, to reagents with its all in-house manufacturing system. Its all-in-house manufacturing system allows relatively quicker development and release of new products.

BIONEER conducts a genetic analysis of virus variants every month. It designed an Oligo set that can specifically detect Omicron variant, by analyzing the Omicron variant genes. BIONEER says it can sufficiently handle the cases of new variants with its synthetic biology technology that utilizes genetic analysis, big data, and AI(Artificial Intelligence).

"BIONEER's technology accumulated for last 30 years, the efforts of our researchers, and the cooperation with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led us to develop both diagnostics kits in a short time. We hope our new products to contribute to the quarantine in and out of Korea," said Nam-il Kim, head of the Diagnostic Reagent Division.