By: Pramod Kumar
THE Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the drug regulator in the country, has given approval to Swiss company Roche Diagnostics India to conduct coronavirus tests.
Roche Diagnostics is the first private firm to get such permission after the government decided to allow accredited private labs to test for COVID-19.
The DCGI is now assessing giving license to another private diagnostic firm, bioMérieux, which has also sought approval to conduct tests for coronavirus, reports said.
Two Indian diagnostic companies– Trivitron Healthcare and Mylab Discovery Solution– have also sought approval from the DCGI for the coronavirus testing kits developed by them.
The Indian health ministry has issued guidelines for private sector laboratories intending to initiate COVID-19 testing while appealing them to conduct the tests free of cost.
Roche Diagnostics India is the country’s in-vitro diagnostics market leader. The Company started operations in January 2002 and provides diagnostic testing solutions and services for early detection, evaluation and monitoring of diseases.
The company provides a wide range of diagnostic products in the areas of diabetes, virology, immunology, blood screening, women’s health, microbiology and oncology for India’s customers.
