'Feluda,' TATA Group's Low Cost COVID-19 Test, Gets Govt Approval For Launch

The Tata group recently received approval for the commercial launch of India's first CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) COVID-19 test 'Feluda,' by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

Feluda reportedly is a strip test that can give results of COVID-19 test within minutes.

The Machine Maker

This test uses an indigenously developed CRISPR technology for detection of the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, said the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in a statement.

The Tata CRISPR test reportedly achieves accuracy levels of traditional RT-PCR test, gives quicker results, is less expensive and has better ease of use.

CRISPR is a genome editing technology to diagnose diseases. The technology has been developed by CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology).

ANI

¡®The Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) test, powered by CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) FELUDA, received regulatory approvals today from DCGI for commercial launch, as per ICMR guidelines, meeting high quality benchmarks with 96 per cent sensitivity and 98 per cent specificity for detecting novel coronavirus,¡¯ the statement said.

The statement further said, ¡®The Tata CRISPR test is the world's first diagnostic test to deploy a specially adapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the virus causing COVID-19¡¯.

¡®The Tata Group has worked closely with CSIR-IGIB and ICMR to create a high-quality test that will help the nation ramp up COVID-19 testing quickly and economically, with a 'Made in India' product that is safe, reliable, affordable and accessible¡¯.

Also Read: India's 1st Indigenously Built Walk-In COVID-19 Test Kiosks Become Functional In Kerala

Representative Image/Science News

¡°We have been working on this tool for around two years. But, in late January, when the outbreak hit its peak in China, we began testing it to see if it can work for Covid-19. It took us around two months to come up with these results," Dr Debjyoti Chakraborty, one of the doctors who came up with the test, previously told Live Mint in an interview.

This is the first of its kind approach to be developed in India.

Disclaimer: While there have been several different types of treatments being given to COVID-19 patients across the world, there isn¡¯t any one drug that has worked as a sure-shot treatment yet. Don¡¯t self medicate/stock up and always consult your doctor/medical health professional.