DRDO develops an antibody detection-based kit DIPCOVAN

New Delhi, May 21: A lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a Covid-19 antibody detection-based kit called DIPCOVAN. The kit can detect coronavirus spike as well as the nucleocapsid proteins of the virus.

"The kit can detect spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97% & specificity of 99%," the DRDO said.

"It was developed indigenously by scientists, followed by extensive validation on over 1,000 patient samples at various Covid hospitals in Delhi," it added.

In May 2021, the product received the regulatory approval from the DCGI, CDSCO, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to manufacture for sale and distribution," it said.

On Monday, the first batch of DRDO's anti-Covid drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), was released by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan.