When the coronavirus put the globe under threat, Pune-based virologist Minal Dakhave Bhosle became the face of resistance by developing India’s first Corona testing kit despite being at the last trimester of her pregnancy. Minal was immersed in research even on the day before her delivery. Her dedication gave birth to India’s first corona testing kit.
Bhosle, chief virologist at MyLab Discovery Solutions, and her team shocked the world of science by developing a kit for the pandemic, which usually could take 6 months, in just 6 weeks. Minal gave birth to a baby girl just the day after her test kit was submitted for approval at the National Institute of Virology. With NIV, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and Food & Drug authorities approving the kit, Mylabs can now commercialise it. MyLabs has assured the government that they will produce 1 Lakh kits in one week.
While the current testing of the pandemic requires 4-8 hours, Pathodetect Covid-19 Qualitative PCR Kit developed by MyLab can conduct tests and deliver results in just 2 hours. The virus is detected through ‘Reverse Transcription Polymerised Chain Reaction’ or R.T- PCR test.
Currently, imported kits that cost up to Rs 4500 are used for COVID testing. On the other hand, detection via Patho Detect will cost only Rs 1,200. Moreover, 100 samples can be tested using a single kit. Right now, India faces a shortage of COVID testing kits. MyLab aims to distribute Pathodetect in areas like Pune, Mumbai, Goa, Delhi and Bengaluru.
