Thermo Fisher inaugurates COVID-19 testing kits mfg facility at Bengaluru

PTI, Feb 16, 2021, 6:19 PM IST

New Delhi: Thermo Fisher Scientific on Tuesday inaugurated its new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru to produce COVID-19 testing kits and diagnostic solutions to meet the widespread demand for affordable and reliable testing kits in the country.

The CoviPath COVID-19 RT-PCR Kit has been approved for in vitro diagnostic use by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and Drug Control General of India (DCGI) in all authorised laboratories, Thermo Fisher Scientific said.

”The new facility is equipped with the capacity to manufacture up to 10 million tests every month. It is a pretty significant capacity creation that we have made here,” Thermo Fisher Scientific, India and South Asia Managing Director Amit Chopra said in a virtual press conference.

He, however, did not share details of the financial investments made on the new facility.

When asked about the pricing of the test kit, Chopra said the pricing is competitive in India and one of the benefits of manufacturing in the country is that the company will be able to offer a very competitive price while offering premium gold standard quality.

”Thermo Fisher has been playing a central role in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The introduction of this kit and the new facility strengthens our commitment towards the COVID-19 response in India,” Chopra said.

The test kit by the company is customised for Indian conditions, it is more easily usable across the country, and not just in big labs who have cold storage facilities but also in other labs too who don’t have these facilities. It can also work with a multitude of RT-PCR machines so that more customers can use the product, Chopra said.

The CoviPath kit is designed to detect viral targets with low mutations and offers more than 99.5 per cent sensitivity and 99.5 per cent specificity. The kit is packaged in a user- friendly and convenient pack size of 200 reactions, the company said.

”As the country is racing to normalcy, it is imperative to have reliable, affordable and quick-to deliver testing kits. Thermo Fisher’s local production facility will augment accessibility of testing kits across the country,” Thermo Fisher Scientific, India, life sciences solutions, senior director Kapil Sood said.