CSIR-IIIM Formulated COVID-19 Test Kit for Rapid Diagnosis; ICMR Approval Pending

CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine has invented a diagnostic kit for rapid testing of a large number of COVID-19 patients. The evaluation and approval of the kit is still pending at ICMR. 

CSIR-IIIM: RT-LAMP assay-based Kit

As an alternative to the standard quantitative PCR (qPCR), the newly devised kit is Reverse Transcriptase-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) assay-based kit and requires expensive instrumentation

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The RT-Lamp assay-based kit is formulated by CSIR-IIIM in collaboration with Reliance Industries. It is a rapid, accurate and cost-effective test that is set up with minimal expertise and instruments.

The cost of the newly devised kit is yet to be decided, but IIIM claims to keep it cheaper than the existing RT-PCR's cost.

IIIM Director Dr. D Srinivasa Reddy said, " The novel kit is submitted to ICMR and is presently under evaluation. The RT-LAMP assay does not require sophisticated and expensive equipment like a real-time PCR machine which is required in RT-PCR test kits used presently."

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One of the IIIM officials also said that continuous and repeated testing of a large number of people requires a long-term strategy so as to prevent new outbreaks while keeping the societies functional until the vaccine gets into reach. For this, the novel kit discovered can prove to be an indispensable asset. 

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