A biotech company in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen is under fire for allegedly producing and selling inaccurate COVID-19 test kits.

The city’s market regulator said Friday that the company, Shenzhen Bioeasy Biotechnology Co. Ltd., is under investigation after multiple media outlets reported that its test kits were far less accurate than anticipated.

A report Friday by the Spanish newspaper El País said test kits the Spanish government had purchased from Bioeasy were only 30% sensitive — far lower than the 80% sensitivity the company had promised. Bioeasy responded Friday, saying that if the accuracy was that low, it was because the tests were not being used correctly.

“The sampling, extraction, and operation of nasopharyngeal swab samples may not be strictly followed in accordance with our operating instructions, resulting in a decline in the accuracy of sample detection,” the notice said.

Bioeasy added that it would replace the allegedly unreliable batch of test kits and further evaluate its product’s accuracy in the coming days. (Image: Xinhua)