The private label line of pharmacies of the Raia Drogasil group, which includes products such as diapers and soap, will also have a self-test for Covid.
It is the first Brazilian network to offer its own test for diagnosing the disease, according to Marcílio Pousada, president of the company.
The product, which will carry the Needs own brand label, goes on sale this Monday (14). “It is a product that we had already been observing outside Brazil”, he says.
The units will be imported from a Chinese manufacturer, which already supplies the network with pregnancy self-tests.
The exam, done with a sample taken from the nose with a cotton swab, was approved by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) at the beginning of the month.
According to the company, the testing kits will be sold for R$ 67.90 and should initially be available in physical stores in the state of São Paulo and on the internet.
“In the last two weeks, the demand for the antigen test has dropped a lot. [nas farmácias]. We think that the self-test will have a very good demand”, says Pousada.
The first self-tests hit pharmacy shelves in early March, after the regulatory agency authorized the sale in the country on January 28. Raia Drogasil already sells the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Autotest Antigen model, the first with a registration approved by Anvisa.
Joana Cunha with Andressa Motter and Ana Paula Branco
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