Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday inaugurated a mobile virology research and diagnostics laboratory, a testing facility developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation that can process over 1,000 samples in a day, speed up COVID-19 screening and carry out immune profiling of patients of the virus for vaccine development. The mobile lab, which can be positioned anywhere in the country, will also be helpful to carry out the diagnosis of COVID-19, virus culturing for drug screening, convalescent plasma derived therapy and early clinical trials specific to the Indian population, the defence ministry said. “Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today unveiled via video conference a Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostics Laboratory (MVRDL) developed by DRDO in association with ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad and private industry,” the ministry said. Singh, while speaking at the event, said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken several timely decisions, due to which the spread of COVID-19 in India is far less compared to many other countries. He appreciated the setting up of this biosafety level 2 and level 3 lab in a record time of 15 days, which would usually take about six months. He said this testing facility, which can process more than 1,000 samples in a day, will enhance India’s capabilities in fighting COVID-19. The first of such Mobile Viral Research Lab that will speed up COVID-19 screening and related R&D activities was developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), the Hyderabad based laboratory of DRDO in consultation with ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad. “The mobile lab will be helpful to carry out diagnosis of COVID-19 and also virus culturing for drug screening, convalescent plasma derived therapy, comprehensive immune profiling of COVID-19 patients towards vaccine development and early clinical trials specific to Indian population. The lab screens 1000-2000 samples per day. This lab can be positioned anywhere in the country,” the ministry said. The lab is built according to WHO and ICMR bio-safety standards to meet international guidelines. The system has inbuilt electrical controls, LAN, Telephone cabling, and CCTV.
