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Apollo Hospitals on Thursday announced a collaboration with Tata Medical and Diagnostics (Tata MD), the wholly owned healthcare venture from the Tata Group, to introduce the world’s first CRISPR Cas-9-based diagnostic test, named ‘TataMD CHECK’, to increase Covid-19 testing across the country.
Powered by Feluda (FNCAS9 Editor-Limited Uniform Detection Assay), TataMD CHECK is an indigenously developed paper-strip testing kit for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) based on the gene-editing technology CRISPR Cas-9. The Feluda diagnostic technology platform has been developed by the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR- IGIB).
Apollo Hospitals, along with its subsidiary Apollo Diagnostics, will offer the Tata MD CHECK testing in Delhi-NCR from the first week of December and will thereafter roll it out across major centres such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune, followed by a second phase into other cities.
“The addition of Tata MD check as part of the testing arsenal will be a boost to the ongoing efforts that the country has been waging against this pandemic. We at Apollo are happy to partner with the Tata Group in what is potentially a revolutionary advancement in the Covid testing landscape,” said Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals (AHEL) and Managing Director, Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited (AHLL), said in a virtual press conference to announce the partnership.
TataMD CHECK has been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (IMR) and the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). It is a viral detection test with high accuracy and a quick result turnaround time. Apollo Hospitals Group is the first healthcare institution in the country to adopt the test.
“We believe that the association with Apollo Hospitals will catalyse the rapid adoption of TataMD CHECK as the efficient and preferred testing option as we begin to resume our lives,” said Girish Krishnamurthy, CEO and MD, Tata Medical and Diagnostics, during the event.
He also added that the TataMD CHECK test kits are being manufactured at Tata Medical and Diagnostics factory at Sriperumbudur, which has the capacity to produce one million units, which can be ramped up further as per requirement.
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