The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a testing kit for Covid-19 developed by Molbio Diagnostics. The newly approved test costs below Rs 1,350, much cheaper than the existing screening procedure carried out by other private labs. Test results with this kit will be available within an hour.
The highly contagious novel coronavirus has resulted in over 70,000 deaths globally so far. The Moblio test kit will enable same day testing and reporting, enabling patient isolation when necessary. “The need of the hour is to augment access to molecular diagnostics in a fast-track mode with required financial support, which will help in better preparedness to tackle in controlling pandemics like Covid-19 and other outbreaks in future,” said Dr Chandrashekhar Nair, chief technical officer at Molbio Diagnostics.
Molbio Diagnostics is supported by India Health Fund, through the Centre for Health Research and Innovations. India Health Fund is an organisation seeded by Tata Trusts to identify and support breakthrough innovations which will help eliminate infectious diseases in India.
Currently, there is no established cure or vaccine for Covid-19. Medical workers in India and around the globe are struggling to keep the pandemic under control. Covid-19 has caused over 110 fatalities in India, with over 4,000 people testing positive. ICMR has so far approved private labs across the country, including Lal Path Labs, SRL and Thyrocare to conduct Covid-19 tests. These private tests cost around Rs 4,500.
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Source: The Financial Express
