Indian company rolls out RT PCR test kit for Monkeypox

• Genes2Me has developed a RTPCR testing kit to detect Monkeypox virus.
• The test kit can provide the results in just 50 minutes.
• It is one of the first Indian companies to roll out this product and it is available for research-use only and based on Gold standard Taqman chemistry based RT PCR method.

Gurugram-based In Vetro Diagnostics (IVD) manufacturers announced that they have developed a RTPCR testing kit to detect Monkeypox virus which can provide results in just 50 minutes.

This kit is available in both the standard version for any commonly available RT PCR instruments as well as Point-of-Care (PoC) format. The PoC solution can be used for screening at multiple sites including hospitals, airports, diagnostic labs and health camps.

“Scientists from Genes2Me have been able to develop POX-Q Multiplexed RT-PCR kit for the detection of Monkeypox virus along with differentiation from Varicella Zoster Virus (Chicken Pox) in a single tube multiplex reaction format,” says the company in a statement.

It is one of the first Indian companies to roll out this product and it is available for research-use only and based on Gold standard Taqman chemistry based RT PCR method.

“This unprecedented time underscores the importance of diagnostic assays in health security preparedness and readiness. We wanted to be prepared ahead of time for this virus,” said Neeraj Gupta, CEO and founder of Genes2Me.

For detection of the Monkeypox virus, both dry swabs and swabs placed in VTM can be used.The company also claims to be the first ones to introduce RT-Direct as first made-in-India COVID-19 extraction free RT-PCR Kit.

He added, “ We have the capacity to manufacture 5 million test kits in a week. However, it can be scaled up to 2 million tests in a day with the added demand.”

In the backdrop, the makers of TrueNat real-time polymerase chain reaction, which is the only PoC platform used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to detect tuberculosis, is also developing the test kit for monkeypox, indicated government sources.

Trivitron Healthcare, a Chennai-based medical devices company, also developed a real-time RT-PCR-based kit for the detection of the monkeypox virus. The company says that its test kit can differentiate between smallpox and monkeypox in a one-tube single reaction format.

Last week, the WHO declared Monkeypox as a ‘public health emergency of international concern’. Globally, more than 16,000 cases of the Monkeypox virus have been reported over the last seven months in around 68 countries, out of which five people succumbed to the virus.

India has reported over four cases so far, three have been detected in Kerala and one in the national capital.

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