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SZIJJÁRTÓ: SYNLAB INVESTS IN CORONAVIRUS TESTING LABORATORY

 

The foreign ministry and HIPA National Investment Agency have granted SYNLAB Hungary Kft 140 million forints (EUR 390,000) for developments worth 281 million forints related to coronavirus testing, and the facility will be on track to process 5,000 PCR tests per day by the first half of 2021, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign and trade minister, said. He welcomed as “an important development” that the largest European private service provider of medical diagnostics has made another investment in Hungary, adding that its centre in Csepel was central Europe’s largest such lab and possibly Europe’s most cutting-edge. Around 45-50 million samples are tested each year at the 6,000sqm facility, he noted, adding that thanks to the government’s support, new laboratory equipment and devices are now being purchased, and a new centre of excellence for blood collection and evaluation established together with a Covid laboratory. Meanwhile, announcing an investment by 3DHISTECH Kft, Szijjártó said Hungarian know-how also played a big role in combatting coronavirus around the world. He told a press conference that the company’s devices were key to diagnosing the virus’s symptoms. The state is adding a 282 million forint grant to the 2.3 billion worth of investments. Its Budapest production centre will expand from 4,000sqm to 8,000sqm, creating 70 new jobs, he added.