Ahmedabad, Feb 2:Covid-19 diagnostics startup Mylab Discovery Solutions today announced the approval and launch of CoviSwift - a point of care (POC) RT-PCR testing solution that can be used at small labs, in-hospital labs, airports, villages etc.

As a POC solution, CoviSwift will enable small labs and collection centres to perform gold standard RT-PCR tests for Covid-19.

The CoviSwift test is expected to be available in the market in early February.

Push for RT-PCR testing capacities

This may increase testing capacity in India from 3000 labs to 60,000 labs, the company said, adding that the solution comprises the CoviSwift assay and Compact-Q machines which process 16 samples within 40 minutes.

This means about four times faster than the traditional method of RT-PCR testing while maintaining the gold standard accuracy.

Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director of Mylab, said, "With this solution, we have solved many age-old problems in RT-PCR testing. Unlike, RT-PCR test components that need to be stored and transported at (-)20 degrees at all times, CoviSwift test will be stored and transported at room temperature. This means RT-PCR testing can now reach places where cold chains are not available or electricity is not continuously available."

"We have applied for a series of patents on underlying technologies and we believe this solution will change the

face of molecular diagnostics for years to come," he added.

During the pandemic and amidst the surge of cases in multiple waves, the need for RT-PCR testing became pronounced .

Plug-n-play machine

Conventional RT-PCR labs require dedicated special infrastructures like medical grade clean rooms and highly trained technicians to handle the reagents.

But a POC test can be performed in a regular lab or even at makeshift labs or camps set up at airports, industrial estates, academic institutions etc. Also, CoviSwift kit comes with patented tubes and can be handled by anyone without specialised training.

The plug-n-play machine is similar to the size of a regular toaster used in household kitchens.

Mylab has developed software to interpret the results automatically. It requires a nasal sample into tubes, mixed and put into the Compact Q, as simple as a self-test.

It will be available in a pack of single tests with all components so that labs do not need to manage reagent storage and logs.

Suitable for port of entry tests

CoviSwift has a shelf life of 24 months at room temperature - the first in its category - making it a truly made-for -India product, the company said.

Normally, Rapid PCR or single-gene based tests are deployed at the port of entry in the country, such as airports. But they do not match the accuracy of a gold standard RT-PCR.

CoviSwift will ensure that now ports of entry have a reliable solution of testing and limit the spread of next variants in the future from other countries or within the country, Mylab statement said.

The company, which has investments from Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla and Abhijit Pawar, Chairman of APG, claims it to be the world's first POC with high throughput solution for Covid-19. In September last year, Mylab had picked up a 51 per cent stake in the health-tech startup Sanskritech, the developer of the point of care (POC) testing system – Swayam.

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