DRDO’s Lab Develops COVID Antibody Detection-Based Kit ‘DIPCOVAN’

The kit will be useful in understanding COVID‐19 epidemiology and assessing an individual’s previous COVID exposure.

COVID-19 Antibody Detection-Based Kit DIPCOVAN

(Image: Twitter/@@PIB_India)

A COVID-19 antibody detection-based kit 'DIPCOVAN' has been developed by a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

In a press release, the Ministry of Defence said, “The DIPCOVAN kit can detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 percent and specificity of 99 percent.”

The product will be commercially launched in the first week of June this year.

DRDO’s lab, Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), has developed the kit in association with Vanguard Diagnostics Private Limited, a Delhi-based development and manufacturing diagnostics company.

How Was It Developed?

The Ministry of Defence said, “The DIPCOVAN kit was developed indigenously by the scientists, followed by extensive validation on more than 1,000 patient samples at various COVID-designated hospitals in Delhi.”

The press release added, “Three batches of the product were validated during the last one year. The antibody detection kit was approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in April 2021.”

The product received regulatory approval, to manufacture for sale and distribution, from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in May.

Readily available stock at the time of launch will be 100 kits, which can help conduct around 10,000 tests. The kit’s current production capacity is of 500 kits per month after the launch. It is expected to be available at about Rs 75 per test.

Earlier this week, an anti-COVID drug developed by the DRDO was launched by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who distributed around 10,000 doses of the same to some hospitals in the national capital.