The Researchers at Kusuma School of Biological Sciences (KSBS) of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, develops the first probe free real time PCR diagnostic assay for detecting the COVID-19 to help reduce the cost of testing has got approval from the Indian Medical Council of Medical Researches (IMCR).
Key Points:
i.On 24th April 2020, The Minister of Human Resource and Development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank felicitated the IIT-Delhi researchers team involved in the development of the COVID-19 testing kit.
ii.The team of researchers includes Ph.D scholars – Prashant Pradhan, Ashutosh Pandey, Praveen Tripathi and Dr. Akilesh Mishra, Dr. Parul Gupta, Dr. Sonal Dhamija, Prof. Vivekanandan Perumal, Prof. Manoj B.Menon, Prof. Bishwajit Kundu, Prof. James Gomes of IIT-Delhi.
iii.The IMCR validated the assay with 100% sensitivity and specificity which makes the IIT Delhi to be the first academic institute to get the ICMR approval for a real time PCR based diagnostic assay.
iv.The probe free method developed by the IIT Delhi team reduces the testing cost without making any compromises on the accuracy than the current probe based testing .
v.The production can be easily increased since fluorescent probes are not required and the team is targeting large scale deployment of the kit at an affordable price with industrial partners.
About ICMR:
ICMR is the apex body for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research in India.
It is the oldest and largest medical research body in the world.
Headquarters– New Delhi
Director General– Dr. Balaram Bhargava
