Tata group along with ‘CSIR-IGIB’ commercial launch got approved by the Drug Controller General of India for conducting ‘CRISPR’ COVID 19 tests in the country.
A higher-quality Covid-19 testing kit has been introduced by Tata Group with CSIR-IGIB and ICMR by integrating the process.
On Saturday, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the commercial launch, by Tata Group and the CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology), of the first Clustered Standard Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) coronavirus test ‘Feluda.’
CRISPR technology utilizes the locally developed, latest and accurate identification of SARS-CoV-2 virus of genomic sequence.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has published an official release that shows the 96 per cent sensitivity and 98 per cent specificity of the new coronavirus are high-quality requirements for the Tata CRISPR test, guided by CSIR-IGIB, obtained regulatory DCGI approvals for commercial launch, in compliance with the ICMR guidelines.
The TATA group CRISPR test is the first worldwide diagnostic test for the COVID 19 virus requiring unique engineered Cas9 protein used in the process.
The release also claimed that the launch represents a major accomplishment for the Indian science community from research and development to a high-precision, scalable and accurate test in less than 100 days.
“CRISPR”, keeps up with the accuracy level of the conventional Testing process RT-PCR with a turnaround time of 30 minutes and with a lower expenditure towards the pieces of equipment. Furthermore, CRISPR is a forward-looking technology capable of being used in the future even for detecting several other pathogens, Tata claimed.
“Approval of the COVID-19 Tata CRISPR Test would improve the country’s efforts in the fight against the global pandemic,” said Girish Krishnamurthy, CEO of TATA Medical and Diagnostics Ltd.
Anurag Agrawal, director of CSIR-IGIB, said CSIR work began with the sickle cell diagnostics and therapeutic mission to rapidly create a new SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tool.
The release showed that the Group has worked in close collaboration with CSIR-IGIB and ICMR to establish a quality test that will assist the nation to rapidly and economically increase testing Covid-19, with a safe, secure, affordable and usable ‘Made in India’ product.
