The first batch of COVID-19 antibody detection test kits COVID Kavach Elisa, manufactured by Cadila Healthcare, has been delivered to the ICMR. According to company officials, 30,000 COVID-19 antibody detection kits have been given free of cost to the ICMR. The kits have been manufactured by Zydus Diagnostics, which is a unit of Cadila Healthcare.
The manufacture of the kits has been possible following a technology transfer from ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. The company said in a statement that the kits manufactured by Zydus were validated by the NIV and were found to have high sensitivity and specificity. The kits, the statement said, were manufactured in just four days, after receiving all necessary materials from ICMR-NIV.
The antibody kits are very important and useful in surveillance and understanding the magnitude of the population that is exposed to the infection. ICMR-NIV had transferred the technology to Zydus last week. This was India's first indigenous IgGElisa test kit for antibody detection.
Chairman of the company Pankaj R. Patel said that this reaffirms their commitment to do everything that they can to help the nation fight this healthcare challenge. He said, “They believe that the need of the hour is to be prepared in every way that we can with the latest diagnostic technologies and that is why we are providing the initial supplies at no costs.”
This test has an advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of two and a half hours.
Earlier, the company had partnered with the ICMR for being better equipped against infectious disease outbreaks and help people, who are at high risk, particularly in distant and remote areas of the country.
