Roche Chairman Says Demand for Covid-19 Tests Exceeds Production

Roche Holding AG’s production of coronavirus tests is falling behind in meeting the outsize global demand for them.

“The PCR tests that detect acute Covid infection, the demand exceeds our production,” Roche Chairman Christoph Franz said in an interview with Swiss daily newspaper Tages Anzeiger.

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant said it prioritizes sending tests based on medical needs and where the highest infection rates are, according to the paper. In some countries lacking the tools for analysis of the testing, the focus is on trying to supply diagnostic devices as quickly as possible, the chairman was quoted as saying. ...