TDB-DST supports Kriya Medical Technologies
By Sanjeeb Kumar Sahoo
NEW DELHI: The raging pandemic devastated many lives and caused immense hardships. However, due to synergetic effort of our researchers, industrialists and entrepreneurs, the country could bring out solutions like RT-PCR testing kits, COVID vaccines, PPE kits, Masks etc. in record time.
The country not only met the domestic supplies of vaccines, but also contributed to the global COVID-19 vaccination requirements, which garnered India the title of the ‘pharmacy of the world,’ and placed India as a “dependable nation” when it comes to global health crisis like that of a pandemic.
As the nation prepares for its Amrit Kaal, the moment is here to redesign the aspirations of pharma and medical device sector. For India, to rise as the global leader the next step is to move towards innovation, promote new ideas and enhance the healthcare ecosystem. The country has showcased many of these traits at the time of fighting pandemic by manufacturing Covid-19 vaccine, diagnosis kits indigenously by home grown companies like Bharat Biotech and Mylab Discovery Solutions in collaboration with government bodies like ICMR, DST, DBT & TDB.
Moving forward, Govt. of India has adopted a pro-active approach driven by future ready solutions which focuses on large-scale, high-quality manufacturing of medical products. Needless to say, that TDB has played a pivotal role as an enabler for the entire ecosystem. Today, nearly all the major companies in the healthcare sector viz. M/s Shantha Biotech (Manufacturer of the first vaccine in India i.e Hepatitis B) and Bharat Biotech, Biocon, Ranbaxy, Biological E, Gland Pharma, Panacea Biotech, Virchow Biotech, Stride Acrolab, Mylab Discovery etc., have been financially supported by TDB for creation of their project infrastructure.
To further strengthen India’s Healthcare sector, Technology Development Board supports M/s Kriya Medical Technologies Private Limited, Chennai for Development and Commercialization of Saliva Direct Sample Collection Kit. TDB has penned the agreement to provide Rs. 4 crores loan assistance out of the total project cost of Rs. 9 crores.
The company intends to manufacture and commercialize a saliva collection kit with a Molecular Transport media (MTM) that will advance molecular diagnosis of infectious diseases and cancer screening. The MTM enables the laboratory to skip RNA isolation protocol and facilitates DNA isolation. The current conventional collection method for viral pathogens, VTM, keeps the virus alive during lab manipulation. The company’s novel media inactivates the virus at the time of collection, thus avoiding the accidental spread of infections which is inherent with conventional VTM. Furthermore, this new technique aims to improve both testing reach and patient comfort during the sample collection process. MTM does not require preserving the sample at stringent temperature conditions during transportation. KRIYA’s collection kit relies on self-collection, which allows for significantly improved transport of samples from remote / rural areas and is less invasive compared to nasopharyngeal swabs.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, KRIYA came out with India’s first domestic, ICMR-approved nasopharyngeal swab-based sample collection kit along with an innovative Safe Viral Molecular Transport Medium. The company successfully manufactured the kits and supported government hospitals and leading lab chains during times of international crisis.
KRIYA is led by Anuradha Moturi, with an aim to bring world-class, cutting-edge healthcare technology to India and other emerging market countries. KRIYA’s goal is to create an ecosystem of medical solutions that integrates diagnostic devices with digital platforms to target high-occurrence and high-impact diseases, ultimately elevating basic healthcare available to marginalized markets.
Rajesh Kumar Pathak, IP&TAFS, Secretary, TDB said that, “Time & again India has shown capability to deliver innovative solutions when required the most. The time couldn’t be more right for companies & start-ups to come forward with more such innovative technologies at affordable cost. The decade has been termed as ‘Techade’, which shall provide requisite boost to India’s innovation sector through self-reliance among private entities and harnessing strength at the grassroots, true to the slogan of Jai Anusandhan by Hon’ble Prime Minister.”
