Will the Minister confirm whether the Welsh Government will to continue procuring lateral flow tests from Innova Medical Group and Sharp?
I can confirm no payments have been made to Innova/Sharp by the Welsh Government in relation to the production of COVID-19 lateral flow tests at the site in Rhymney.
The procurement of lateral flow tests is led and managed by the UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Services under the UK Testing Programme from which Wales receives a population share.
Lateral flow tests procured by the UK Government and allocated to Wales go through a rigorous, laboratory-based evaluation by a joint Public Health England, Porton Down and University of Oxford team. Findings are reported to inform potential purchasing and deployment decisions.
Further validation information is available at: Protocol for evaluation of rapid diagnostic assays for specific SARS-CoV-2 antigens (lateral flow devices) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)