South Korean drugmaker Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday it has started sales of coronavirus self-test kits at local pharmacies and its online channels.

SD Biosensor's at home test kits received approval from the nation's drug safety agency last week, and they are now available via Hanmi Pharmaceutical's distribution channels across the nation.

Users can collect samples from their noses on their own for testing, and the results come out within 15-30 minutes.

If users receive a positive result from the self-test, they are required to visit screening stations to undergo preemptive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to get a more accurate result.

Another self-testing kit by local drug developer Humasis will hit pharmacy shelves and become available via online channels beginning Monday.

The two self-test kits have also won approval for emergency use in foreign countries, and they are currently being used in several European countries.

South Korea is struggling to boost its testing capacity as the country is girding for another wave of the pandemic. (Yonhap)