The COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus Pandemic doesn't seem to be slowing down but the lockdown restrictions are being lifted to help the economy recover, after having taken a massive hit. With a COVID vaccine not being ready for public distribution yet, it is mandatory that people follow all safety precautions mandated by the health authorities, to keep themselves safe! Also, till the time a vaccine is identified, it is very important to continue testing for the corona virus aggressively! The current tests are being conducted using RT-PCR kits. However, scientists have been working to identify lower cost testing methods and kits which give results in a far quicker turnaround time. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has now released a statement, mentioning that the Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) COVID-19 test has now been approved for use by the DCGI! 

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the commercial launch of Feluda, the Tata CRISPR COVID-19 test! This test uses an indigenously developed CRISPR technology, which is cutting-edge, for detecting the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus's genomic sequence. The statement by CSIR states that the CRISPR test provides the accuracy of the conventional RT-PCR tests but with a quicker turnaround time and with better ease of use, using less expensive equipment! This CRISPR, jointly developed by the CSIR and IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) is a genome editing technology to diagnose diseases! The statement read, "The Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) test, powered by CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) FELUDA, received regulatory approvals today from DCGI for commercial launch, as per ICMR guidelines, meeting high quality benchmarks with 96 per cent sensitivity and 98 per cent specificity for detecting novel coronavirus."

The statement also added that the Tata CRISPR is a futuristic technology that can be configured for detection of multiple other pathogens, if required. This is also the first diagnostic test to use a specifically adapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the COVID-19 causing virus. CSIR further added, "The Tata Group has worked closely with CSIR-IGIB and ICMR to create a high-quality test that will help the nation ramp up COVID-19 testing quickly and economically, with a "Made in India" product that is safe, reliable, affordable and accessible." Stay tuned for updates...