ICMR issues revised guidance document on rapid antibody test kits for COVID-19

The ICMR on Thursday issued revised guidance document on rapid antibody test kits for COVID-19 and listed the firms whose kits have been validated and found satisfactory.

The apex health research body had issued on Wednesday night a guidance document in which two Chinese firms -- Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics -- whose importer's licenses were cancelled by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation last month, found a mention among the list of companies, test kits of whose, have been validated at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune so far.

The document, however, was taken down from the website in the morning and a revised one was uploaded later.

The revised document also mentions the two Chinese firms, but states that "the marketing licenses to the distributors of these two companies have been cancelled by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO)."