Syngene International, an integrated research and development services company, has entered into collaboration with HiMedia Laboratories, a bioscience company with expertise in media manufacturing and diagnostics for over 45 years, to manufacture and distribute its ELISA kits. HiMedia will manufacture the kits at its facility in Mumbai and distribute it across India.

Syngene has indigenously developed an anti-COV-2 IgG ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) at its research facility in Bengaluru. This advanced highly reliable test identifies the presence of SARS-COV-2 antibodies in blood samples and confirms if a patient has been exposed to the coronavirus. It has a capacity to test samples together in a single run and generates results within 3 hours.

Commenting on the collaboration, Dr Mahesh Bhalgat, Chief Operating Officer, Syngene International, said, “At a time when the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing at an alarming rate across the country, there is an urgent need to make available reliable testing kits using advanced technology to test patients and identify positive cases. To fill this gap, Syngene, with its expertise across diverse scientific domains, has developed an ELISA kit that allows higher throughput and generates faster results. We are happy to tie-up with HiMedia who will make the kits available at a large scale to significantly increase serological testing in India.”

Dr Vishal G Warke, Director R&D, Cell Culture and Immunology, HiMedia Laboratories added, “We are happy to partner with Syngene in manufacturing and distributing their ELISA kits. This partnership brings together our mutual expertise in research and manufacturing and will further strengthen our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”

As part of the collaboration, Syngene will initiate tech-transfer of the kits to HiMedia for developing the prototypes for submission to CDSCO for approval. HiMedia will launch the kits in two weeks after receiving the approval and market it under its brand name ELISafe 19.