Rako Science was formed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to bring New Zealanders an accurate COVID-19 PCR saliva testing option.

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Rako Science is named after the Rako (Buller's shearwater) seawater bird. Reminiscent of the rako's flight path between Aotearoa and the U.S., Rako Science adopted the covidSHIELD test designed by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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Our founders, businessmen and brothers Dr. Stephen Grice and Leon Grice, alongside U.S. investor and philanthropist, Sean Colgan, worked hard and fast to deliver the country's first diagnostically validated PCR saliva test, complete with IANZ accreditation (accreditation No. 987 IGENZ Ltd).

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The test was licensed in September 2020 and by January 2021 the company became fully operational. Within months of opening, Rako Science scaled its operations nationally, responding to the nation's testing demands and processing up to 40% of the nation's PCR tests of all sample types.

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In October 2022 the company was purchased by the Asia Pacific Healthcare Group (APHG) and continues to operate as a stand-alone entity within the APHG network.