Apple Awards $10 Million to Nasal Swab Maker COPAN Diagnostics to Help Boost Factory Output 3z3n6n Technology News

Shortages of collection kits and testing supplies have slowed efforts to track the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States. 4a6g3h

By Reuters | Updated: 7 May 2020 19:28 IST

Apple Awards $10 Million to Nasal Swab Maker COPAN Diagnostics to Help Boost Factory Output

“We feel a deep sense of responsibility to do everything we can to help," Apple COO Jeff Williams said. 4b251a

Highlights

Shortage of collection kits has slowed efforts to track coronavirus in US
The corporate parent of COPAN Diagnostics is based in Italy
Apple did not specify the nature of the funding

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Apple said on Thursday that it was awarding $10 million (roughly Rs. 75 crores) to a maker of nasal swabs and other materials for collecting samples for COVID-19 tests in a move aimed at boosting the swab maker's production to 1 million collection kits per week by early July.

The two companies said the award would help Murrieta, California-based COPAN Diagnostics expand into a larger facility and create 50 new jobs in Southern California. In addition to providing the funding, robotics systems.

Shortages of collection kits and testing supplies have slowed efforts to track the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States. The corporate parent of COPAN Diagnostics, COPAN Group, is based in the Lombardy region of Italy, one of the worst-hit regions in the world during the pandemic, and stepped up production as demand surged.

In California, COPAN Diagnostics makes specialized nasal swabs to collect samples for COVID-19 tests, along with vials and sterile media used to transport those swabs to labs for testing. The companies said Apple's help would expand production of sample kits destined for US hospitals from a current several thousand per week to more than one million kits per week by early July.

In a statement, Norman Sharples, chief executive of COPAN Diagnostics, said Apple's "teams are already making a huge difference with our efforts to scale up the production of our sample collection and transport kits.”

Apple did not specify the nature of the funding but made the award from a $5 billion (roughly Rs. 37,900 crores) advanced manufacturing fund. The iPhone maker previously used the fund to expansions and research at its suppliers, such as Finisar, which makes chips for Apple's face recognition sensors.

“We feel a deep sense of responsibility to do everything we can to help medical workers, patients, and communities the global response to COVID-19,” Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

© Thomson Reuters 2020

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