Page 40 - Packaging News Magazine Sep-Oct 2021

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PANDEMIC PACKAGING | www.packagingnews.com.au | September-October 2021
JL Lennard helps Ellume
deliver US Covid test contract
When Australian digital diagnostics company Ellume landed a US$231.8 million contract with
the US Department of Defense in February 2021 to supply its rapid COVID-19 Home Test to the
US market, the secure packaging solutions installed by JL Lennard at the company’s Brisbane facility played an important role in ensuring the safe delivery of the kits. Lindy Hughson reports.
DEVELOPED in Australia, the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is an over- the-counter, rapid self-test which detects SARS-CoV-2 antigens. Taking only 15 minutes to carry out, the test is the first of its kind authorised by the US FDA for both asymptomatic and symp-
tomatic use without a prescription. The agreement included funding to support the establishment of Ellume’s U.S.-based manufacturing facility in Maryland, and the deliv- ery of 8.5 million COVID-19 home tests that will be distributed across the U.S. in accordance with the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Prepared- ness plan. With at least 50 per cent of cases being transmitted asymp- tomatically, Ellume’s test will play a crucial role as the only diagnostic tool authorised for non-prescription use as a screening tool in the United States that can provide accurate
results in a single test.
At the time the contract was secured, Ellume founder and CEO Dr Sean Parsons said, “Our focus is enabling the U.S. to minimise commu- nity transmission and reopen as quickly as possible. We are prioritising our partnership with the US govern- ment to mobilise tests quickly and in the most impactful way. We will fulfill the order for these tests at the same time as we ramp up the output across our production facilities, creating
BELOW: The successful upscaling of
the Brisbane facility, in partnership with JL Lennard, laid the foundation for Ellume’s contract win
more possibilities for retail and private institution use in the future.”
This US-based manufacturing capacity would build on Ellume’s existing Australian production capacity, which would deliver 100,000 tests per month until the Maryland facility was up and run- ning. At full capacity, the US facility will be able to produce up to 19 mil- lion tests per month.
THE BACK STORY
At the height of the pandemic in 2020, when Ellume was preparing for the global launch of its world-leading COVID-19 tests, it approached packag- ing equipment supplier JL Lennard for advice on how to securely package its test kits, who provided the solution in the form of the well proven Fuji Alpha 8 Flow Wrappers for the company’s new production facility in Brisbane.
Together with Bosch Australia’s Manufacturing Solutions Division (BAMS), Ellume built a state-of-the-art
Ellume produced
100,000
tests per month for the US market at its Australian facility.