With certain theories saying that the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to peak in India even as the lockdown period is set to end, the country is expected to see an increase in demand for RT-PCR tests.
However, the way RT-PCR kits are manufactured in India and imported from abroad, probably there won't be a shortage of one of the most accurate kits to detect the virus infection.
A case in point is CoSara Diagnostics Private Limited, which is headquartered in Ahmedabad and has a manufacturing plant in Vadodara. The company is a joint venture between Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises of India and Co-Diagnostics Inc of Utah, USA. The JV was set up in 2018.
Mohal Kartikeya Sarabhai, the CEO of CoSara Diagnostics, told THE WEEK that they have ramped up the capacity of production to 20,000 test kits per day and have been doing it for a fortnight now.
The company was the first in India to get a licence from the Central Drugs Standards Control Organization (CDSCO), New Delhi to manufacture coronavirus test kits, in March.
Mohal, the grandson of legendary space scientist late Dr Vikram Sarabhai, said that they have also procured material to manufacture five lakh kits.
In addition, the company has imported 50,000 tests from its JV partner in the USA and one lakh kits are expected to reach to them in a week's time. Mohal said that there is no price difference between the tests manufactured in India by them and the ones imported.
According to him, with other players in India also manufacturing kits, there should not be a problem in the country as far as testing goes. He, however, feels that there is a need to ramp up other infrastructure, like the protective gears, needed to carry out during these tests.
Mohal foresees a surge in demand for the tests once the lockdown is over.
He said that the test kits that they manufacture give faster results – in about three hours. According to him, they have been talking to various state governments. Their test kits are being sent to approved private laboratories in New Delhi and South India.
Mohal said RT-PCR tests are the most sensitive and accurate. According to him, once the lockdown is over and the countries open up to receive travellers from other countries, having a RT-PCR test result might become a necessity.
Dwrigth Egan, CEO of Co-Diagnostics Inc, had earlier said in a statement that with no known treatment or approved vaccine for the highly infectious COVID-19, the need for accurate and rapid diagnosis has never been greater.
CoSara specialises in molecular diagnostics for diseases such as tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and Asia specific diseases.
