AC Health boosts COVID test capacity with leading conglomerates

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc (AC Health), the healthcare arm of the Ayala Group, has partnered with five big companies to build four Biosafety Level 2 modular laboratories in Qualimed hospitals, in line with boosting the country’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing capacity.

In a statement, AC Health said it recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Aboitiz Foundation, ABS-CBN Corp., Alfonso Yuchengco Foundation, Gokongwei Brothers Foundation and Metrobank Foundation for the initiative.

AC Health said the laboratories will be located in hospitals of the Qualimed Health Network in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, Tanauan in Batangas and Iloilo City.

“Each lab, equipped with one automated RNA extractor and two reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines, will have the capacity to perform 1,000 RT-PCR tests/day,” AC Health said.

“The innovative and efficient modular set-up, designed and built by Makati Development Corp. (MDC), will accelerate construction timelines for the laboratories,” AC Health said adding that the laboratories are expected to be accredited and operational by next month.

AC Health said the consortium was formed as part of the Ayala Group’s initiative to contribute an additional capacity of 5,500 confirmatory RT-PCR tests per day in support of the Department of Health’s and the Inter-agency Task Force’s Project T3 (Test, Trace, Treat). Project T3 aims to expand national testing capacity to 50,000 tests per day by end-June.

“Increasing the country’s confirmatory testing capacity is not easy. We are grateful to have been able to form a consortium of friends from the private sector who are just as committed to battling this pandemic. The challenges we are all facing highlights the importance of the private sector working in collaboration with the government to ensure our country’s recovery,” said Fernando Zobel de Ayala, chairman of AC Health.

The members of the consortium have previously addressed COVID-19 through various initiatives.

Among these efforts are that of the Abotiz Group’s COVID-19 response initiatives worth over P1.85 billion, which include monetary and in-kind (e.g. PPEs, food, and support equipment) donations. With its nationwide presence, Aboitiz has also been proactively assisting communities in Visayas and Mindanao through its various business units operating in the area.