HYDERABAD: The country’s first-ever Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (MVRDL) developed by iCOMM Tele, a MEIL group firm, in collaboration with DRDO and ESIC hospital, Hyderabad was unveiled in the city by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, via a video conference, on Thursday. The lab will help speed up Covid-19 screening and related R&D activities.
The inaugural was also participated by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy and Telangana MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao.Appreciating the setting up of this Bio-Safety Level 2 and Level 3 lab in a record time of 15 days, which otherwise takes about six months, the defence minister said that this testing facility, which can process more than 1,000 samples in a day, will enhance the nation’s capabilities in fighting Covid.
Two 30-feet-long containers for the mobile lab were provided by iCOMM Tele, which is engaged in various sectors including Defence, Power Transmission and Distribution, Solar, Oil & Gas. The company also supplies advanced communication radios, jammer amplifiers and containers to all missile programmes including Brahmos, Akash, PGAD, Pralay, MRSAM etc and has also developed Wind Profile Radars for the Indian Air Force.
The labs are built as per WHO and ICMR bio-safety standards. It will be helpful in carrying out diagnosis of Covid-19, virus culturing for drug screening, convalescent plasma-derived therapy and comprehensive immune profiling of Covid-19 patients for the development of vaccine.