Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : November 19, 2020 10:31 AM IST
The test result can be obtained in about 40 minutes.
The first batch of Feluda paper strip test, an indigenously developed testing kit for Covid-19, will be launched in Delhi today by the Tata group in collaboration with the Apollo group of hospitals, a leading newspaper reported.
The new testing kit, which has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for use in the country, would be marketed as "TataMD's CHECK".
Although the price has not been released yet, it is likely to be cheaper than the current gold standard RT-PCR yet equally accurate. Reports said it could cost around Rs 500 which is much lower than the cost of a PCR test (currently the rate is capped at 2,400 in Delhi). The Feluda test requires a thermocycler machine that is easily available in laboratories and science institutions and can deliver results in around 40 minutes.
The fast and cheaper Feluda testing kit may help in scaling up Covid-19 testing in Delhi, one of India's worst-hit states.
Named after the famous Bengali fictional detective, the Feluda test uses the gene-editing technology CRISPR to identify the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The testing begins by extracting the RNA from the swab sample, which is then amplified using a thermocycler machine. Next, the sample is tested using a paper strip that is barcoded with the Cas-9 protein to recognise genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Just like a home-based pregnancy testing kit, the Feluda paper strip displays lines to show whether a person has the Covid-19 virus. The test result can be obtained in about 40 minutes, the report said.
Trials at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) and in private labs showed that Feluda has a high sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 98%. This means the test can accurately detect both positive and negative cases.
The indigenous testing kit has been developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIRs) Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi, and validated by the National Centre for Biological Sciences and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The Indian Council of Medical Research has already approved in September.
The process of sample collection and extracting RNA remains the same in both Feluda and RT-PCR testing methods. But the new paper-based test requires a thermocycler machine for processing the sample. These machines are cheap and widely available in most labs and scientific institutions.
On the other hand, only big laboratories and scientific institutions usually have maybe one traditional RT-PCR machine, Dr Debjyoti Chakraborty, one of the scientists who developed the kit, told Hindustan Times.
Although a lab is still needed to process the sample, it can be performed in small mobile labs, said Dr Chakraborty adding that the new paper strip test can scale up Covid-19 testing.
It is the world's first CRISPR Cas-9 based diagnostic tool to be launched globally, Tata Medical and Diagnostics Ltd (TataMD) had claimed in a statement.
The US Food and Drug Administration had already approved a similar CRISPR based Covid-19 test for emergency use in the country. It is called "Sherlock" after the English fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. The difference is that Sherlock uses Cas-13 while Fledua uses Cas-9 to detect the virus.
