India’s Comptroller General of Drugs (DCGI) approved on Saturday the commercial launch of India’s first Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) coronavirus test, ‘Feluda’, developed by Tata Group and CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative). Biology).
“This test uses state-of-the-art CRISPR technology developed in the country for the detection of the genomic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. CRISPR is a genome-editing technology for diagnosing diseases,” the statement said.
According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Tata CRISPR test, powered by CSIR-IGIB, received regulatory approvals from DCGI for its commercial launch, per ICMR guidelines, meeting high-quality benchmarks with 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity to detect the new coronavirus.
“The Tata CRISPR test is the world’s first diagnostic test to implement a specially adapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the virus that causes Covid-19,” he added.
The statement further said that the launch marks a significant achievement for the Indian scientific community, moving from research and development to a highly accurate, scalable and reliable test in less than 100 days.
“The Tata CRISPR test achieves the precision levels of traditional RT-PCR tests, with faster response time, less expensive equipment, and greater ease of use. Additionally, CRISPR is a futuristic technology that can also be configured to the detection of many other pathogens in the future, ‘it said.
Commenting on the development, Girish Krishnamurthy, CEO of TATA Medical and Diagnostics Ltd, said: “The approval of the Tata CRISPR test for COVID-19 will give a boost to the country’s efforts in fighting the global pandemic.
“The commercialization of the Tata CRISPR test reflects the tremendous R&D talent in the country that can collaborate to transform India’s contributions to the world of scientific research and global health,” he said.
Anurag Agrawal, Director of CSIR-IGIB, said that work initiated by CSIR under the Sickle Cell Mission for Genome Diagnostics and Therapeutics led to new insights that could be harnessed to rapidly develop a new diagnostic test for SARS-CoV. -two.
According to the statement, the Group has worked closely with CSIR-IGIB and ICMR to create a high-quality test that will help the nation scale up Covid-19 testing quickly and inexpensively, with a ‘Made in India’ product. ‘which is safe. reliable, affordable and accessible.
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