Mylab partners with US firm to bring more point of care Covid tests

Biotech firm Mylab Discovery Solutions, which made India’s first indigenous RT-PCR kit as well a self test rapid antigen test kit for Covid-19, is now planning to bring in more point of care (POC) Coronavirus tests through a partnership with US medical diagnostic company Hemex Health.

Hasmukh Rawal, MD, Mylab Discovery Solutions said that some tests will be launched by the end of this month and that these could be used at hotels, malls, multiplexes, offices, airports etc.

He did not wish to comment on the pricing immediately. Mylab introduced a self-use rapid antigen test (RAT) in May and priced it Rs 250. The company aims to make 40-60 mn RAT kits per month and cover 95 percent of India’s pincodes (through pharmacies) 

Under the partnership, Mylab will develop the test assays while Hemex will provide its Gazelle POC platform for testing coronavirus and other diseases. Mylab said in a statement that after the second wave of Covid-19 in India, the importance of de-centralised and point of care testing has become evident. Traditional diagnostic laboratories have limited capacities, and thus POC tests assume significance, the company felt.

“The portable diagnostic device and tests assays will help in testing at any location, in a wide range of environmental conditions, and without the need to transport the sample, enabling quick results for the patients,” Mylab said.

Rawal said, “Together with Mylab’s accurate FIA test kits, we can make testing available anywhere – from a small village without electricity to an international airport. We believe this partnership will help India and the world prevent subsequent waves of Coronavirus”.

Together, the companies will develop Fluorescence Immunoassay (FIA) and Electrophoresis-based diagnostic solutions.

Immunoassay tests work by using antibodies to detect small biological substances in the blood and other bodily fluids. Particular antigens bind to specific antibodies. Immunoassays work on that principle. Fluorescent Immunoassays are simply a different type of immunoassay – it uses a fluorescent compound as a detection reagent which absorbs light at a specific wavelength and then emits light or energy at a different wavelength.

On the other hand, electrophoresis based diagnostic tests measure specific proteins in the blood to help identify some diseases. The test separates proteins in the blood based on their electrical charge.

“These tests are more sensitive than the normal rapid antigen tests and have fewer false negatives,” Mylab claimed. 

The diagnostic solution will be jointly introduced in the international markets including the US, Europe and Asia.

Hemex Health, backed by TiE Global Angels and Cleveland Clinic among other investors, has experience in the US market and distributes a point-of-care sickle cell test on their Gazelle Diagnostic Device into nine countries. Mylab, backed by Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India, has been developing diagnostics solutions in India including the latest self-test kit – CoviSelf for Covid-19.