​​​​​​​COVID-19 Test kits in India may see 13x increase as Serum Institute invests in MyLab

Serum Institute invests an undisclosed amount in My Lab that received government approval to produce COVID-19 test kits in a bid to ramp up testing in India.

The partnership is targeted at scaling up the production of COVID-19 test kits as well as expanding the lab's molecular diagnostic solutions capability. According to a statement shared by the firm with a news source, MyLab will be ramping up production of COVID-19 test kits from 1.5 lac units per week presently, up to 20 lac (2 million) units per week within the "next few weeks".

Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive of the Serum Institute of India, further stated that with the ramping up of production, the shortage of COVID-19 test kits in India will end "in a month or two".

Earlier this week, MyLab Laboratories announced that it has received clearance from the government of India to supply test kits that will help detect more COVID-19 cases in the country, and help authorities understand at which stage of the coronavirus pandemic is our nation at. The test kits have been priced at Rs 1,200, which is significantly lower than the Rs 4,500 pricing mark that they were previously pegged at.

MyLab COVID-19 test kit has received clearance and approval from the Indian Food and Drug Administration, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), and over the coming two weeks, will see the introduction of new production lines that should increase the supply of test kits all across the healthcare sectors of India.