CHENNAI: Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chennai, ventured into an agreement with Sristi Bio-Sciences, a Hyderabadbased bio-pharmaceutical company to empower Indian healthcare system by developing, validating, manufacturing and marketing cost-effect ive and indig e n o u s immuno-diagnostics and therapeutics for COVDI-19. Sristi Bio-Sciences, along with Capital Health Services, a Hyderabad- based healthcare company, has established India Health Foundation (IHF) to specifically focus on this area of research.
Chettinad Academy of Research and Education (CARE) is an active partner in the consortium assisting the preclinical and clinical validation of intended diagnostics and therapeutics. Announcing this, MAMR Muthiah, trustee of CARE and the MD of Chettinad Group of Companies, shared his commitment to contributing to and collaborating with the highly demanding research and development initiatives for COVID-19. The Institute, under the leadership of vice-chancellor T Balasubramanian, has collaborated with a team of scientists led by Dr Jayaraman of Sristi Bio-Sciences. The Departments of Pharmacology, Microbiology and General Medicine from Chettinad Hospital have taken up the R&D activities in collaboration with Sristi.
The RT-PCR test kit developed for quantitatively determining virus load is fully indigenous, starting from primers, probes and master mix to enzymes. ELISA and Lateral Flow Immune assay kits aim to detect antigens and antibodies of COVID-19 virus as a single step immunodetection. All these are indigenously manufactured, test licensed, validated and clinical trials are initiated at Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute. The trials were initiated last week and the team is testing new viral markers and various novel combinations of viral genes.
The initial results are promising and they are awaiting more data to make fully indigenous diagnostic kits available for the Indian healthcare system. The animal immunisation studies are under progress with the objective of generating antibodies that can be used in the immune-diagnostics and therapeutics. The early results are encouraging. The Institutional Animal and Human Ethics committees have approved the research studies and the clinical validations are registered with Clinical Trials Registry-India. The studies are being conducted in compliance with good clinical and laboratory practices, and according to the regulatory requirements.
For trials
Chettinad Hospital has strong intellectual, infrastructure and resource capabilities in pre-clinical research,
clinical research and immunodiagnostics.