Zydus Cadila supplies 30,000 COVID KAVACH Elisa test kits to ICMR

The kits, to be used for antibody detection of Covid-19, have been manufactured in collaboration (via technology transfer) with ICMR-NIV of Pune for surveillance purposes

Cadila Healthcare (Zydus Cadila) on Thursday said it has supplied the first batch of 30,000 Covid Kavach ELISA test kits gratis to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The kits, to be used for antibody detection of Covid-19, have been manufactured in technology transfer with ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for surveillance purposes.

Pankaj R Patel, chairman of Cadila Healthcare, said the kits are being supplied at no cost.

Manufactured by Zydus Cadila, the test kits have been validated by NIV-Pune and were found to have high sensitivity and specificity. Termed Covid Kavach ELISA, the kits have been manufactured at the company’s Moraiya facility near Ahmedabad within four days of receiving requisite material from ICMR–NIV.

While reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kits are largely being used for testing Covid-19, the ELISA antibody test kits were approved by ICMR, after NIV-Pune successfully developed an indigenous IgG ELISA test for antibody detection of Covid-19.

The test is said to have the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of two and  a half hours, with the ELISA kit making testing possible even at the district level.

After development at ICMR-NIV, technology has been commercialised by Zydus Cadila for large-scale production.

Earlier, Zydus Cadila had partnered ICMR to be better equipped against infectious disease outbreaks, and help high-risk individuals, particularly in remote areas of the country.

The company has been manufacturing and marketing a range of ELISA kits for detection and surveillance of rare and neglected diseases in humans and livestock.

The company has manufactured kits for Chandipura virus (ELISA), Kyasanur Forest disease virus (ELISA), Hepatitis E virus (ELISA), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (IgM and IgG tests) and measles (IgM) for human testing and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (ELISA kits for sheep, goat, and cattle) and Japanese Encephalitis (ELISA kits for mosquitoes).

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