Achiko Partners with Udayana University for Covid-19 Testing Research in Bali, Indonesia

• Achiko signed a research agreement with Udayana University’s Research Department to study the practicability of a mass testing approach with Teman Sehat and Gumnuts when available
• The Study will focus on a systems approach to mass testing and consequences to healthcare, and consumer and business confidence
• The partners collaborate to deploy testing infrastructure, Teman Sehat and other systems to 3 islands adjacent to Bali: Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan
• Successful completion will have implications for the rollout across the rest of Indonesia and to other countries

ZURICH, Switzerland, Dec. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Achiko AG (SWX: ACHI, ISIN CH0522213468) (“Achiko”) and Udayana University’s Research Department (“Udayana”) have signed a research agreement on Wednesday. The partners plan to conduct a study to better understand acceptance of mass testing in the broader population as well as the practicality of mass testing, and its effects on healthcare, and consumer and business confidence. To this end, diagnostic testing for Covid-19 will be deployed across three islands in the province of Bali (Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan), Indonesia, starting in late January 2021.

The Study will include Teman Sehat, Achiko’s Testing Passport and ecosystem platform, and Gumnuts, Achiko’s low-cost saliva-based testing solution, when available.

Udayana is a leading state university in the province of Bali. Its Research Department will be studying not just acceptability and practicality of mass testing, but also the implications in terms of resources needed for adaptation and integration of Teman Sehat with existing processes. An accompanying implementation study will monitor the effect that mass testing has on incidence rates as well as the number of successfully identified close contacts, clusters and mandated isolations.

Achiko and Udayana will be working together to administer Covid-19 testing to the population and visitors of the three islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan (approx. 75,000 people). Achiko’s diagnostic test kit for Covid-19, Gumnuts, will be integrated with Teman Sehat, Achiko’s mobile health ecosystem app and distributed across Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan.

With Teman Sehat, the people living on these three islands as well as visitors will be able to book, pay for and manage their Covid-19 testing experience, all while maintaining privacy. Test results will be mirrored on the Teman Sehat app, which doubles as a digital passport. Visitors must test negative in order to board a plane to any Indonesian destination, including these islands. On the islands, Teman Sehat will regulate access to places with a traffic light system.

The research findings are expected to become available within 3 months after launch of the study, serving as a reference point for governments and stakeholders when evaluating cross-border testing in Indonesia and beyond. Teman Sehat’s digital passport solution supports a wide range of testing solutions, including Gumnuts, and can be integrated into other digital passports such as the and the World Economic Forum’s .

“Whilst the vaccine developments are promising, we firmly believe that vaccinations and testing go hand in hand. Mass testing and vaccination passports give people the tools to show their negative test results, allowing them to move freely within a secure environment,” said Steven Goh, CEO of Achiko. “We’re excited to be working with Udayana in Bali, a place we all love. The study will create a proof of concept that we hopefully will be able to extend to the rest of Indonesia, and to many other countries afflicted by the pandemic.”

The Chairman of the Health Research Center at University Udayana, Dr. I Md Ady Wirawan, MPH, PhD, added: “We are looking forward to doing this research study with the Achiko team, allowing us to learn more about how mass diagnostic testing can assist the local government and stakeholders in combatting the Covid-19 pandemic.”

About Achiko AG

We create solutions with a great user experience, for the transformation of the healthcare industry.

The development of our patent pending diagnostic testing kit for Covid-19 (Gumnuts) provides an easy and effective way to help people get the information they need. This is complemented by our mobile check-in app (Teman Sehat), enabling users to manage their diagnostic experiences on their own terms, safeguard their privacy, share experiences and find community.

We are headquartered in Zurich, with offices in Hong Kong, Jakarta, Singapore and Seoul.

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This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Achiko AG and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Achiko AG to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Achiko AG is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.