Yerevan /Mediamax/. Production of COVID-19 tests in Armenia will be based on the diagnostic technologies recognized by international healthcare organizations, Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology Arsen Arakelyan has told the press.

According to him, the institute currently needs to purchase the materials for the tests, which is why it is already negotiating with manufacturers from several countries.

“There are two options: importing tests from other countries and creating tests in Armenian laboratories. These two options will be used simultaneously. We have the necessary equipment, but we are looking at purchasing the devices that can speed up the production,” said Arsen Arakelyan.

“The tests will diagnose the virus via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The institute will allocate the funds provided by the government to purchasing the materials,” added Arakelyan.

“We have vast experience with similar work, and we have the scientific and technical potential. The majority of our researches include the same PCR methods, and the tests for our researches are made by the staff of the institute,” he specified.

According to Arsen Arakelyan, the technological process is not difficult, so the institute will set up the production quickly upon obtaining the materials. There will be a trial and quality control stage first, he has added.

When asked by Mediamax how many tests the institute can produce per day, Arsen Arakelyan has replied:

“We have sufficient potential, but I’ll be able to give you the number of tests we can produce daily with much more certainty when we start the production.”