COURTESY HT NOV 19

Feluda test to be available in Delhi from today
New Delhi : An indigenously developed testing kit for Covid-19 based on the gene-editing technology CRISPR – called Feluda – will be launched in Delhi on Thursday by the Tata group in collaboration with the Apollo group of hospitals, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Tata Medical and Diagnostics Ltd (TataMD) announced that the paper-strip kit would be marketed as “TataMD’s CHECK”.

The test is likely to be cheaper than the current gold standard RT-PCR and equally accurate, helping in scaling up Covid-19 testing as it would need a machine that is widely available with laboratories and science institutions. The new kit has a high sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 98%, meaning it can accurately detect both positive and negative cases.

On Tuesday, the US also gave a greenlight to the first Covid-19 testing kit to be used in the home, adding a new tool to battle the pandemic as nationwide testing capabilities come under more strain. The US FDA issued an emergency use authorisation to Lucira Health Inc’s rapid-result All-In-One Test Kit, which is expected to cost around $50. Consumers will need a prescription to acquire it