Covid home test kit to hit market next week
A Pune-based research laboratory's indigenously developed self-use rapid antigen test (RAT) kit called CoviSelf, which enables Covid-19 test at home for as little as Rs 250, would be available across pharmacies from next week.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the nodal body in the fight against the tricky virus, on Wednesday officially approved the test kit, India's first such.
"This test at home will take just two minutes and results will be available in 15 minutes flat," Sujeet Jain, director at Mylab Discovery Solutions, told Financial Chronicle.
"The CoviSelf test kit will be priced Rs 250 inclusive of taxes," Jain said, adding that the firm was ready to produce 10 lakh test kits every day and the production would be ramped up to 15 lakh units daily within 15 days.
He said the kits would be available by the end of next week in more than seven lakh pharmacies and the company's online pharmacy partners across India.
"After meeting the needs of our country, we will also export the kits," he said, adding that about 40 scientists and technicians had worked on the project for about five-six months top develop the kit.
Jain said the firm had spent over Rs 150 crore on the product in capex and on operating expenses.
"This test is for self-use. If you test positive via this there is no need for RTPCR test, as per ICMR. Any adult can use this kit by reading our manual," he explained.
The kit has been designed in a way that it is extremely simple to use and it is not a biohazard. There is a disposal bag that comes along for safely disposing off the items after use.
Meanwhile, the ICMR said only symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of people who have tested positive in laboratory-conducted tests should use this kit. "Indiscriminate testing is not advised," the top medical body said while issuing detailed guidelines on the kit's use.
"All symptomatic individuals who test negative by RAT should get themselves immediately tested by RT-PCR," the ICMR said.
The testing will be monitored using Mylab's mobile phone application, through which users are advised to click a picture of the test strip after completing the test procedure.
"This easy-to-use test combines with Myab's AIpowered mobile app so that a user can know his/her positive status, submit the result to ICMR directly for traceability, and know what to do next in either case of result," Jain said.
Data transmitted by the phone will be centrally captured in a secure server that is connected to the ICMR's Covid-19 testing portal, where all data will be eventually stored.
Experts say these homebased tests are useful when a runaway infection pattern is observed.
"These tests are used in developed countries such as US and UK. Since these tests have high specificity, it can be used at places where positivity rate is high so as to be able to detect cases early. Positive cases through RAT are mostly true positives," Dr G.C. Khilnani, former head, pulmonology department at AIIMS, Delhi, said.