COVID-19: More testing needed; containment of spread has been effective, says pharma ind

Pharma and biotechnolgy industry leaders on Thursday stressed on the need for more testing across the country while hailing the government's move to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

This pandemic has put spotlight on science, scientists and biotechnology, Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said while addressing an online conference organised by the Department of Biotechnology and School of Engineering & Applied Sciences at Bennett University.

"What we need today is to understand the pandemic and find ways of testing the presence of the virus and ultimately develop a vaccine to counter the virus," she said.

It was realised that there is a shortage of testing kits in the country, and there are people who could develop these kits.

India has started the manufacturing of indigenous kits to face the challenge of their insufficient availability, Mazumdar-Shaw said in the conference on 'Combating COVID-19: Biotech to the Rescue'.

Expressing that the number of tests being done in the country is very small, Sanofi Healthcare Pvt Ltd Chairman Varaprasad Reddy said: "Situation In India is very pathetic regarding the testing. There is lack of test kits. The government has to procure test kits... We are not testing enough".

My appeal to the government is to import test kits, some startups in the country are also making the test kits as these viruses keep coming, but India must be well prepared for it, testing should come first and then drugs and vaccines, as developing them is a long drawn process, he added.

In similar vein, Molbio CEO Sriram Natarajan said that currently, the country does not have enough kits for COVID testing and though the company is planning to deliver to the larger areas of the country it has capacity constraints.

Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt Ltd's MD Hasmukh Rawal said: "As the research on vaccine is going to take some time, diagnosis is going to play a major role".

Distancing and diagnosis are going to be main factors to control the spread of the COVID-19. India's diagnostic response has been been apt. It is ensuring that the right product with the right quality is reaching the market, he added.

Highlighting the role being played in current pandemic crisis, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) DG KG Ananthakrishnan said today more than ever the world is looking at innovative research solutions for the treatment of the disease. India has done a good job in containment but could have done better in testing.

"We need to create a environment that promotes innovation,"