Reliance signs $15 million deal with Israeli firm for COVID-19 rapid test kits

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Reliance Group has signed a USD 15 million deal with Israeli company Breath of Health (BOH) to distribute the firm's swift COVID-19 breath testing system that provides results within seconds. "It takes a few seconds to get the result," BOH's CEO, Arie Laor, told PTI.

The tests conducted by the company so far have given back results in less than a minute, he added.

According to the agreement, the Indian corporate giant will purchase hundreds of systems from the Israeli company in a deal valued at USD 15 million and will use them to conduct millions of tests a month at a cost of USD 10 million per month, business portal Calcalist reported earlier.

Reliance will also lead research of the system in India and will distribute the platform throughout the country and in the Far East, it added.

BOH is said to have developed a breath test system that identifies COVID-19 at a success rate of over 95 per cent.

Preliminary results from clinical trials it is conducting with Israeli hospitals Hadassah Medical Center and the Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer have shown a success rate of 98 per cent compared to the standard PCR test authorised by global medical organisations.

The development of BOH's system began two years ago and was initially meant to provide early detection for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and lung disease.

The company's scientists decided to focus on adapting the system to detect COVID-19 following the outbreak of the pandemic, recognising that it could be a crucial tool in the fight against the virus until the arrival of the vaccines.

Laor said that the company had operated under the radar till date in order to focus on its clinical trials and the development of its system.

The agreement will help to accelerate the trials and Laor is expecting results to be announced in the coming weeks, Calcalist report said.