MyLab launches ‘Compact XL’ RT-PCR system for covid-19 tests

New Delhi: Pune-based molecular diagnostics firm Mylab Discovery Solutions on Wednesday launched the ‘Compact XL’ system for conducting a wide range of tests, including RT-PCR tests for covid-19.

The system can test 32 tests at a time on one system and there are options to connect multiple systems on one network, the company said in a press conference. Designed to automate lab operations and reduce the requirement for manpower, multiple systems can be networked together to achieve throughput of 96 to 1000 plus samples per day, the company said.

“Compact XL will replace the need of 700 sq ft of clean room lab with a 4x3 benchtop machine and reduce the need of 3-4 expert technicians to just one, thus saving operational costs for labs,” Mylab managing director Hasmukh Rawal said.

At a press conference in Pune on Tuesday, Rawal said that the cost per RT-PCR test for covid-19 will be significantly lower with this machine as compared to the roughly ₹1,000 per test kit that its existing product costs.

MyLab was one of the earliest entrants in domestic manufacturing of RT-PCR diagnostic kits for covid-19. After getting approval for its product from the Indian Council of Medical Research and Drug Controller General of India, the company secured investments from Serum Institute of India chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla and and AP Globale in April to ramp up production of Covid-19 testing kits and to expand its molecular diagnostic solutions.

However, the government’s insistence of conducting covid-19 tests only following a doctor’s prescription has been the biggest bottleneck for the company.

Rawal said that Mylab is currently operating at less than half of its capacity of 2 million per week due to low demand in the country and the prohibition of exports by the government. So far, around 10 million tests have been conducted for covid-19 in India, for which about 20% of the kits were supplied by MyLab, Rawal said.

Poonawalla also concurred saying that the government’s insistence on doctor’s prescription is keeping asymptomatic patients out of the radar, which is leading to undertesting of the disease in the country.

“We can produce 2 million kits (per week) but we are not doing it because... the government are not encouraging enough testing. They have put barrier such as the doctor’s certificate is required or whatever. So basically, it means that if you are asymptomatic, you have no business getting tested,” Poonawalla said.

"It can perform 400 tests a day with a single person operating it," tweeted Poonawalla

He added that while the healthcare industry supports the government’s view, they are also urging them to relook at and change existing testing protocols.