Gonoshasthaya-RNA Biotech Limited, a concern of Gonoshasthaya Kendra in Bangladesh, claims that it has developed a kit to test COVID-19 – Gonoshasthaya Kendra stated it in a press release on yesterday.
Point-of-care testing is a simple medical test performed close to the patient where the results are available faster than samples sent to a laboratory.
“We applied for the Directorate General of Drug Administration approval. With its permission, we will be ready for production in a month,” the press release said.
“We hope to produce the testing kits to labs and vendors and with regulatory measures from the government at a cost of Tk 200-250 each, while general people can do the test within Tk 300, ” the statement read.
Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury said the Covid-19 detection kit, jointly developed by a team from Singapore and Gonoshasthaya-RNA Biotech Limited, comes to reduce testing kit scarcity in Bangladesh.
Dr Bijan Kumar Shil, Lead Researcher, Gonoshasthaya Kendra
The team consists of Bijon Kumar Sil, the lead researcher; Nihad Adnan, Raeed Jamiruddin and Firoz Ahmed. Bijon was among the researchers who developed a kit to diagnose SARS in 2003, said the press release.
Talking to the newspaper, Nihad Adnan said they are at the development stage and are preparing a prototype of the Covid-19 detection kit.
“We have the formula, and we are ready to develop the kit. If the government approves, we will go in production and start a trial,” said Nihad.
A high-level skilled team of Gonoshasthaya-RNA Biotech Limited started working since February 2020 to design and develop the whole process of production. The whole team has direct experience in working in this technology.
Gonoshasthaya hopes to supply the Covid-19 detection kit at Tk 200 to vendors or labs.
It also said that the government should take regulatory measures so that the common people can do the test within a cost of Tk 300.
