COVID RESULTS IN '20' MINS: ICMR APPROVES INDIAN MADE RAPID TESTING KITS - PRICE AND OTHER DETAILS!

India’s first indigenous rapid testing kits have been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The Point-Of-Care (POC) rapid tests have been developed by Oscar Medicare, a Delhi based firm. This firm is very well known for its HIV, malaria, and dengue POC diagnostic kits.

Sekhri, CEO of Oscar Medicare claims that the rapid testing kits will provide the results in 20 minutes according to a report in TOI. He also added that this rapid testing kit is priced at Rs.200. The company can produce five lakh testing kits per day, according to the CEO and has also partnered with several distributors across India. By September, the firm plans on launching the first two lakh kits.

All the raw materials were manufactured by Dhiti Life Sciences, thereby omitting the need to import materials. India is currently using Standard Q Covid-19  Ag detection assay which uses nasopharyngeal swab to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2. This procedure takes about 30 minutes to provide results. Another testing kit that is being used in India is the RT-PCR test which uses a technique called polymerase chain reaction to check for the virus. However, the results will take several hours or days to be detected under this technique.

The first indigenous rapid testing kits that are now approved, is likely to be a quick and efficient kit for India.