(Yicai Global) March 27 -- Bioeasy Biotechnology, the Chinese biotech firm accused of supplying substandard Covid-19 rapid test kits to Spain, said the problem may have to do with medics not following instructions.

After discussions with its Spanish counterparts, Bioeasy believes that the country's medical staff have not been strictly following directions on how to take samples, leading to a lower accuracy rate, the Shenzhen-based firm said on its WeChat account today.

"As it is a rapid test kit, following the protocol is very important," the company added.

One of Spain's leading research institutes had found the nose swabs developed by Bioeasy to have a less than 30 percent accuracy rate, according to Spanish media reports yesterday.

A new batch of rapid antigen detection kits that have been sent to Spain are in the process of being verified, Bioeasy said. The current feedback is good and a formal report should be issued in the next few days.

Spain's health ministry has said it will continue with the supply contract, the firm said, without giving any further details.

Bioeasy won permission from the European Union on March 12 to sell four of its Covid-19-related products, including the quick test kit, in the EU. None of these products have been approved by Chinese regulators yet and they are not available in China.

Medical supplies donated by the Chinese government, Alibaba Group and other companies to Spain did not include Bioeasy products, the Chinese Embassy said yesterday. China's commerce ministry has provided Spain with a list of 12 certified suppliers which does not include Bioeasy, it added.

Set up in 2007, Bioeasy is mainly engaged in food and drug safety as well as clinical diagnosis. It is at the moment seeking to raise CNY213 million (USD30.1 million) in an initial public offering on the Shenzhen stock exchange's Nasdaq-style ChiNext board. The firm had net profit of CNY74 million on revenue of CNY205 million in 2018, according to its IPO prospectus submitted last July.

Editor: Kim Taylor