Rapid Antigen Tests Made in Australia

The COVID-19 has been very disruptive and now that vaccination rates are higher it is now mostly about managing our way forward. Testing is still a key strategy and Australia has led the way in Rapid Antigen Testing.

Unfortunately the federal governments has been reluctant to invest in practical local manufacturing capabilities in this area and that has seen the businesses moving to off shore manufacture.

Policy 101 shows us that if you want businesses to direct investment and effort in a particular direction, you need to put in place favourable conditions to encourage that. This isn’t always financial co-investment. But somehow we seem to be failing this topic badly.

Lack of “appetite” for local investment derails RATs manufacture

Currently locally made Rapid Antigen Tests are exported but that is going to change. We led the way in this technology area and the rest of the world gets it.

RAT – Rapid Antigen Test

Making Rapid Antigen Tests for Australia

With support from the Victorian Government and Federal Labour, Lumos Diagnostics in collaboration with Planet Innovation will be making Rapid Antigen Tests here for use here.

Lumos Diagnostics

Planet Innovation

This is a good example of how good policy can drive a good outcome. See:

• Lumos set to make COVID 19 rapid tests in Victoria
• Securing rapid tests and making them in Victoria
• Planet Innovation and Lumos Diagnostics collaborate
• Lumos set to manufacture rapid antigen tests in Victoria
• Boosting Victoria’s rapid antigen tests supply
• Victoria to manufacture rapid antigen test
• New Melbourne rapid test facility expected to create 70 full time jobs
• Victorian RAT manufacturer wants to supply the nation
• Victoria to make RATs Locally

OK, that is quite a lot of coverage. Which shows how important this initiative is.

I’m looking forward to this project going into full scale manufacture. We have learned several important lessons from this pandemic and I hope we don’t forget them:

• you need to be able to make essential supplies locally
• local jobs matter to the whole economy, not just the employed person
• insecure work arrangements are a risk, not a business benefit
• robust modern economies make things

Our congratulations again to Lumos Diagnostics and Planet Innovation for bringing the technology to the table and to the Victorian State Government for understanding the opportunity to invest in the future of Victoria.

Successful Endeavours specialise in Electronics Design and Embedded Software Development, focusing on products that are intended to be Made In Australia. Ray Keefe has developed market leading electronics products in Australia for more than 30 years.

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