The test can be purchased without a prescription from local pharmacies and online channel partners
Mylab Discovery Solutions has received the approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for India’s first self-use rapid test kit for COVID-19. The test, developed in India, is named as CoviSelfTM.
The self-use test can be used by symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of confirmed cases as per the ICMR guidelines. Further, ssers of this test will not need sample collection by a healthcare professional.
With CoviSelfTM, Mylab aims to make testing reach doorstep of every Indian to help them fight the second and any subsequent waves of pandemic. Early detection can help save thousands of lives and significantly reduce burden on hospitals. The test can be purchased without a prescription from local pharmacies and online channel partners.
Speaking on the development, Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director, Mylab Discovery Solutions said, “This is the biggest crisis our country has ever faced. Time and again, we have tried to observe carefully what our country needs, and developed solutions with social benefit at the core. With CoviSelfTM, we are sharing the power of testing early with the citizens. It will save thousands of lives. For India, we will make millions of kits available at a fraction of the cost of such kits in the US.”
Each kit will be provided with all testing materials, instructions to use (IFU) leaflet and a bio-hazard bag to safely dispose after testing. The test is designed to be done using nasal swab (not the deep nasopharyngeal swab) to reduce the discomfort.
CoviSelfTM will provide results in 15 minutes and people who test positive should immediately isolate so that they do not infect others and quickly contact a healthcare provider. Those who test negative and continue to experience COVID-like symptoms should seek follow-up care from their healthcare provider.
“Most western countries have allowed self-test for their citizens and consider it as a powerful tool to break the chain. This easy-to-use test combines with Mylab’s AI-powered mobile app, so that a user can know his/her positive status, submit the result to ICMR directly for traceability and know what to do next in either case of result. We are sure this small step will be a big leap in mitigating the second and subsequent waves,” said Sujit Jain, Director, Mylab Discovery Solutions.
Mylab will price this test at Rs 250, and it will be available in an affordable pack of one. The company will start shipping out tests within a few days.
Mylab’s current production capacity is 70 lakh tests per week and it plans to increase it to one crore tests per week within 14 days.
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