Goan firm gets nod for rapid Covid-19 test

PANAJI: Goan diagnostic system manufacturer, Tulip Diagnostics (P) Ltd, has received the nod from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to manufacture ‘Coviscreen’, a rapid, double antigen test for total antibodies to Sars-Cov2 virus.
Tulip Diagnostics, which has manufacturing facilities at Verna industrial estate, can manufacture up to 5 million test kits per month of Coviscreen at its Goa plant.
“A second test ‘Covicheck’ that can differentiate between IgM and IgG antibodies has also been developed and it’s on the way to get a regulatory approval,” said president of the firm, D G Tripathi.
The CDSCO granted the approval on April 29 and since then the firm has started ramping up its manufacturing process.
The firm claims that its test kit detects the presence of total antibodies (IgM+IgG+IgA) to Sars-Cov2 and is “more specific and sensitive” than most rapid tests available in the market.
Prior to this, Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics received approval for its Covid-19 infection testing kit, the second Indian firm to get clearance.
“A lot of components are required for full scale manufacturing. Manufacturing will start from third to fourth week of May,” said Tripathi.
Tripathi made the announcement and said that since the firm’s products are wholly developed and completely indigenous, the diagnostic kits would serve India’s requirements.
“It may be added that Tulip has eight manufacturing locations pan India and exports to over seventy countries across the globe, and most products meet European conformity criteria,” said Tripathi. The firm exports its diagnostic kits to 96 countries.
The Indian Council of Medical Research was forced to recall the rapid antibody testing kits procured from China after they failed and were found unreliable.