Bengaluru Startup Launches Screening Kit That Lets You Detect Coronavirus Sitting At Home

Bengaluru- based biotech start-up Bione may make testing for COVID-19 much easier as they launch a new home kit to test for the coronavirus.

The kit has been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research. (Representative Image/ Getty)

Bengaluru: With an aim to make Coronavirus testing procedure easy for the people of the country, a Bengaluru-bases biotech start-up Bione has launched a unique home-kit to test Covid-19 to reduce the hassle of rushing to a nearby hospital at a time of a nationwide lockdown. Founded in 2019, the company which specialises in genetic and microbiome testing claims that the rapid home screening test kits will be able to give accurate results in a very short time. The testing kit is based on an Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) tool which takes 5-10 minutes to deliver the results. Users are supposed to clean their finger with an alcohol swab and use the lancet provided to prick their finger. The cartridge provided in the kit then reads the results from the blood sample within 5-10 minutes. With the kit, one will be able to gauge if a person is a carrier of the virus and can take necessary precautionary measures to stop the spread of the infection. The kit has been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and after few more quality checks will be available in the market soon. The company also said in a statement that the products used in the kit have been sourced from CE and FDA approved partners. The home screening test will be available in the market for Rs.2000-3000. The company also urges  people to supplement the results with a laboratory test if one starts developing any symptoms. As of April 3, 2020, India has recorded a total of 2,639 coronavirus cases and over 50 deaths. Currently, the country is under a 21-day lockdown aimed at curtailing the spread of the virus, but there is a daily increase in the number cases. Rapid testing can help authorities control the number of cases in the country.