Aussie manufacturer aids US in COVID-19 fight

Brisbane-based biotech company Ellume has shipped the first batch of its rapid COVID-19 home testing kits to the United States; the company aims to provide more than 20 million tests for the United States by the end of the financial year. The Queensland Government is providing funding to the company from the Essential Goods and Supply Chain program, announced in May 2020. The funding will enable Ellume to increase manufacturing of its rapid testing kits at its new facility in Richlands.

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning Steven Miles visited Ellume’s Richlands facility to congratulate it on its achievement. “Ellume is another successful Queensland manufacturer rolling up its sleeves to fight the global pandemic and employing hundreds of Queenslanders to do so. We have the best manufacturers in Queensland, and we will always back them, as we continue our economic recovery and create jobs,” Miles said.

More than 300 Ellume employees are currently working at the Richlands production laboratory, scaling up to manufacturing more than 200,000 testing kits a day. Miles predicts that the facility will be capable of producing 10 million tests a month, at full capacity. Ellume’s CEO and Founder, Dr Sean Parsons, said the funding will allow the company to install state-of-the-art automated production lines to assemble its suite of rapid COVID-19 tests for export.

“The funds from the state government will greatly assist in upscaling manufacturing to meet the growing demand for Ellume’s products, providing greater supply security. This is world-leading and life-saving diagnostic testing technology, created and manufactured right here in Queensland,” Dr Parsons said.

Miles attributed Queensland’s enviable position to the hard work of all Queenslanders. “Thanks to our world-best health response, Queensland has avoided the significant case numbers experienced overseas. It is a testament to our hard work and wonderful healthcare system that we can manufacture at-home COVID-19 tests right here in Queensland and export them overseas to countries who need it,” Miles said.

Ellume plans to expand availability of its tests into Europe later this year, subject to securing the required approvals.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/velimir