"We are not an improvised or newly founded company, as we have more than 10 years of service," Jers Medical said in a statement.
The company Jers Medical Panama, Inc. ruled this Saturday in relation to the investigation initiated by the Social Security Fund ( CSS ) to determine the possible commission of breaches of ethics by officials of the institution, in the purchase process of tests for the detection of
COVID-19, in the year 2020.
"We are not an improvised or newly founded company, since we have more than 10 years of services and are recognized in the health sector in the country," the company indicates in a statement.
It adds that currently, Iván Israel Ibarra Soto is not a current CSS official, and that although it is true, he worked as a trainer in the CSS in the province of Colón and did not hold a command or jurisdiction position, nor did he participate in any bidding process, joint table, award or purchase of inputs.
“Mr. Iván Israel Ibarra Soto is a training and technical training specialist who has collaborated with our company since February 2021, the month in which he took leave without pay from his work in the CSS, from which he resigned in July 2021 ”, He says.
He assures that the bids obtained by the Jers Medical company were won "in open competition they were held and awarded when Mr. Ibarra Soto did not even provide his technical services in our company."
He explains that this company is a supplier of the Sofia test for detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is manufactured by the Quidel Laboratory in the United States.
It is worth mentioning that earlier, the CSS reported that it initiated an internal investigation to determine the possible commission of violations of ethics by officials of the institution, although it assured “the people who are being investigated did not participate or have a direct or indirect relationship with the CSS-
Minsa joint table for the acquisition of medical supplies in the midst of the pandemic ”.
He explained that at the time the tender was held, the company had another board of directors, different from the one currently referred to.
He added that Iván Israel Ibarra Soto, who served as an official of the entity since 2007, requested in January 2021 a leave without pay for one year, which was granted in February; and on July 21, 2021, he submitted his resignation from the position of Planner and Training Manager; and later, he appeared as a director of the company Jers Medical, in August 2021, after his resignation from the position he held in the CSS.