For the first time in India, Kerala-based Hindustan Level Limited (HLL) Lifecare Limited developed a molecular diagnostic kit for diagnosis of dengue and chikungunya antigens. As a collaborative effort, HLL joined its hands with Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology (RGCB) for the development of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) kit for these infectious diseases.
The serological kit is in the final stages of validation, and the product will be launched in the market soon. This third-party validation is being performed with a tie-up with Kerala State Institute of Virology, a state-run healthcare research institute.
According to Dr. M Ayyappan, CMD of HLL says, the newly-designed molecular diagnostic kit would facilitate precise diagnosis of dengue and chikungunya. The kit can considerably reduce the economic and healthcare expenses burden of the common man and the cost of the diagnostic kits will be affordable to all and the company is looking for extending the research facilities for all the viral platforms, he said.
HLL is a leading Indian healthcare institute with strong-foots on manufacturing of products including condoms, pregnancy kits and many personal healthcare products of its kind. HLL manufacturing unit is located at Manesar, Haryana and started development of many similar in-vitro diagnostic kits for infectious diseases including malaria.
In India, both of these infectious diseases persist as a perennial and endemic problem that worsens during monsoon seasons. In 2010, nearly 28,292 confirmed cases of dengue were reported and 110 dengue-related deaths across the country and it is endemic in all the Indian states.
