The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) has developed indigenous reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kits for diagnosis of Covid-19 in association with Genomic Biotech.

“CSIR-IICT has taken up the challenge of making an affordable RT-PCR kit indigenously using recombinant technology for production of several enzymes used in the kit and optimised the reagent conditions to match the regulatory requirements,’’ the Hyderabad-based institute said in a release.

The partnering company, Genomix Biotech, will optimise the kit for Covid-19 diagnosis by adding the Taqman probes.

IICT and Genomix Biotech plan to approach ICMR or its recognised laboratory for validation to launch the product in a couple of weeks.

There is limited availability of the kits in the market, as most of them are currently imported. This collaboration will enable to produce affordable quality RT-PCR kits and help meet the huge demand of the country during this Covid-19 pandemic.

Further, the kits can also be used in various other disease diagnostics of humans, animals and plants. This technology will bring down the overall cost of RT-PCR based diagnosis in the country.

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