AFC Agro Biotech is going to produce molecular diagnostic kits as per an agreement with South Korean Bioneer Corporation.
In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, it said molecular diagnostic kits would be used to detect Dengue, Chikungunya, Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, HPV, HLab27, TB, STI, GI, and transplant-related viruses.
"Under the agreement, AFC Agro will manufacture, refill and distribute Bioneer's molecular diagnostic kits," said Khandakar Ruhul Amin, chief financial officer (CFO) of AFC Agro Biotech.
South Korean Bioneer Corporation has specialisation in molecular diagnostics. It will provide technological support to the Bangladeshi firm to produce diagnostic kits in the country.
"We have also planned to export molecular diagnostic kits to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries," said Mr Amin.
The Bioneer Corporation was the first Korean biotechnology company, established in 1992.
It has developed state-of-the-art molecular biology products and technologies, including oligonucleotides, thermostable polymerases, and instruments of gene manipulation (automatic nucleic acid extractor, thermal cycler, real-time qPCR instruments and DNA sequencer), according to its website.
Established in 2010, AFC Agro Biotech engages in manufacturing and sales of bio-pharmaceutical and bio-chemical products in Bangladesh.
The company was listed on the stock exchanges in 2014, raising Tk 120 million under the fixed price method for business expansion.
AFC Agro Biotech produced a coronavirus vaccine jointly with the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS) of Dhaka University (DU) using Johnson and Johnson formula in 2021.
It failed to generate expected profits for the two financial years to FY22. It declared only 0.50 per cent cash dividend for FY22 and FY21 each.
AFC Agro Biotech's profit dropped 56 per cent year-on-year to Tk 19.6 million in the nine months through March this year. The company is yet to disclose its financial results for FY23.
Meanwhile, the stock has been languishing at the floor price of Tk 23.50 since September last year. The sponsor-directors of the company failed to hold jointly 30 per cent shares. Until the end of November, they had a stake of 27.84 per cent in the organisation.
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