Seegene said Tuesday that it has won the bid posted by Clalit, the largest health organization in Israel, to supply gastrointestinal infection test kit.

The contract period is five years, and Seegene plans to supply Clalit with two gastrointestinal infection test kits -- Allplex GI-Bacteria (I) and Allplex GI-Parasite – worth 10 billion won ($8.8 million).

Allplex GI-Bacteria (I) simultaneously detects seven species of acute diarrhea, including Salmonella and Vibrio, while Allplex GI-Parasite simultaneously detects six major parasitic pathogens, including Giardia Lamblia.

Seegene received high marks in performance evaluation, including the excellence of simultaneous multi-test products.

The company’s products are the world's first and only real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based simultaneous Multi Ct product, Seegene said. It can detect the pathogen causing the gastrointestinal infectious disease within four hours after examination and can identify the degree of infection.

Seegene plans to complete the equipment installation at the local laboratory in January and start supplying reagents from next month.

Digestive tract infections, which cause diarrhea and food poisoning, are the second most common epidemic in the world, affecting about 1.7 billion people a year.

According to WHO's announcement, it is the fifth most common cause of death in the world and the second leading cause of infant mortality. However, it is difficult to perform early diagnosis and proper treatment by its reason.

That also explains why the diagnostic filed is replacing its conventional culture method to a molecular diagnostic test that can conduct large-scale screening.

“We are currently negotiating with other health maintenance organization (HMO) companies in Israel to supply inspection products,” Seegene CEO Chun Jong-yoon said. “Based on successful cases in Israel, we expect to expand our sales for gastrointestinal infectious diseases products to Europe.”