27 August 2020 08:50 am
The Export Development Board (EDB) and Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) are joining forces to boost Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 medical product range supply to the world.
To capitalise on the opportunities brought about by the global pandemic, the country’s nanotechnology research centre and the export promotion agency have partnered to enhance export production of the new medical product lines.
“COVID-19 has created unexpected market opportunities for medical-related industries around the globe, providing openings for innovative entrepreneurs to exploit.
While no doubt the crisis suppressed the exports of certain sectors, it also shed a light on emerging opportunities for domestic exporters to capitalise on, in particular PCR testing components and anti-microbial coatings,” an EDB statement said.
An agreement has been entered into by the two agencies, where the EDB affirms its support to SLINTEC to obtain the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration and Conformité Européenne (CE) certifications for the innovative, export-ready Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 product range.
Exploiting the COVID-19-related market opportunities, SLINTEC has ventured to innovate and commercialise two new products with high export potential—SLINTEC Swabs and SLINTEC Sterile.
The products, which will be commercialised via hotels, hospitals, airports, residential houses, offices and supermarkets, have already captured the attention of buyers in the European and US markets, the EDB shared.
It added that the last gap to bridge is to obtain the FDA (US market) and CE (EU markets) certifications for export market compliance.
The assistance will be facilitated through the provisions of the National Export Strategy (NES) 2020 budget, which was allocated by then Industrial Exports and Investment Promotion Ministry. A sum of Rs.5 million has been allocated to push forward the new effort.