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The demand for domestic antigen reagents has increased greatly, but the profit margin is limited, and the US antigen market price is still high

 Last Update: 2023-01-01
 Source: Internet
 Author: User

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With the optimization and adjustment of epidemic prevention policies, antigen testing has become an important detection method, antigen reagents are selling hot again, and enterprises have increased production capacity, but after the price continues to decline, the profit margin of domestic antigen reagents is becoming increasingly limited
.

Antigen reagent manufacturers have increased production capacity

Recently, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing and other places announced that they will no longer carry out nucleic acid testing for all employees according to administrative regions, and encourage families to bring their own antigen kits
.
Under the strong market demand, various antigen reagent manufacturers have increased their production capacity
.

On December 2, Ding Li, deputy director and spokesperson of the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, introduced that Guangzhou is coordinating new crown antigen kit manufacturers to reasonably increase production capacity, and the maximum production capacity of new crown antigen kits in Guangzhou is about 10.
5 million servings
per day.

At present, the maximum production capacity of new crown antigen kits in Guangzhou is about 10.
5 million servings per day

On December 5, Aviron told the media, "The market demand for antigen kits has increased, the company has no stock, the company produces 7.
5 million kits per day, all of which are shipped on the same day of production, and the number of orders is large
.
" ”

The company produces 7.
5 million kits per day, all of which are shipped on the same day of production, and the number of orders is large

On December 6, Mentor Biologics said on the investor interactive platform that with the gradual cancellation of normalized nucleic acid testing in various places, the new crown antigen test has become an important supplement to epidemic prevention and control, and has also become an important means of home health testing for the people, so it will stimulate the demand for
new crown antigen detection reagents.
The company will actively adjust its production capacity to respond to market demand
.

The company will actively adjust its production capacity to respond to market demand

Oriental Biotech insiders told us, "At present, the normal production capacity is 15 million to 20 million, and the production capacity is gradually recovering, and the supply is now in short supply
.
" ”

At present, the normal production capacity is 15 million to 20 million, and the production capacity is gradually recovering, and the supply is now in short supply

Up to now, the State Food and Drug Administration has approved 36 new coronavirus antigen detection reagent products
.
Judging from the corresponding official websites and instructions issued by enterprises, the quality of the approved antigen reagents is uneven, and the accuracy rate varies greatly, which will bring hidden dangers
to the large-scale use of antigen reagents.
After the initial rush, the antigen reagent market may usher in a reshuffle, and products with high accuracy will win
in the competition.

Profit margins have been significantly compressed

Despite the surge in demand for antigen reagents, the secondary market has not bought it, and the recent trend of the antigen testing sector has continued to be weak, and many companies' stock prices have fallen sharply in the past two days
.
Behind this, after the continuous price reduction, the scale of the domestic antigen reagent market has shrunk significantly, and the profit margin has been very limited
.

It is understood that in March this year, the price of antigen reagents after collection was generally about 9.
8 yuan per person, and by May and June, the price had dropped to 3-4 yuan, and the latest government procurement price was mostly 2 yuan
.
On the online shopping platform, the current price of new crown antigen detection reagent products is basically 3 yuan to 5 yuan / person, the more quantity purchased, the lower
the average price.

So how much does antigen reagent cost to produce?

GF Securities previously mentioned in the research report that at present, the production cost of a single copy of antigen self-test reagents in China is about 2-3 yuan, and under extreme circumstances, the production cost can be reduced to 1.
5 yuan (the OEM price is 1.
9-2.
5 yuan per piece), up to 4 yuan (exported to high-demand markets such as the United States).

The production cost can be reduced to 1.
5 yuan

Some insiders told us that "the cost of antigen reagents is close to 2 yuan, and most of the latest government procurement prices are 2 yuan"
.

The cost of antigen reagents is close to 2 yuan

At present, the sales of antigen reagents are mainly government procurement, if the government procurement price drops to about 2 yuan, the profit margin of antigen enterprises is very low
.

Antigen reagent prices remain high in the United States

Compared with the floor price of domestic government procurement, the market price of antigen reagents in the United States is still high
.

On November 23, Jiuan Medical announced that the company obtained a US procurement contract to purchase 72 million iHealth kit products, with a total contract price and tax of about 191 million US dollars (including freight), about 1.
367 billion yuan
.

According to the contract information disclosed by iHealth, the purchase price of the US government's new crown home antigen test is as high as $2.
65 per unit
.
Although this price is close to the price of about $5 per unit at the beginning of the year, it is still far higher than the price
in Europe and other countries.

The purchase price of the US government's new crown home antigen test is as high as $2.
65 per unit

It is worth noting that in the terms of this contract, the origin requirement for new crown antigen test products purchased by the US government from iHealth is "the United States and its overseas territories"
.

The United States and its overseas territories

Some analysts believe that the requirements of the iHealth new crown antigen test manufacturing place are in the United States, and the production cost is bound to be higher than the previous one, so the purchase price of the US government is much
higher than the purchase price on the market.
The requirement for antigen reagents procured by the U.
S.
government to be "locally manufactured" may be related to
an executive order signed by U.
S.
President Joe Biden in September to advance innovation in biotechnology and biomanufacturing for a sustainable, safe, and secure U.
S.
bioeconomy.

In order to eat the big cake of the US market, it is reported that Jiuan Medical began to lay out production lines in the United States in August, and Oriental Biotech also said that it has begun to lay out an industrial base in Houston, and will achieve production and sales
this year.

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