Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) has developed a Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostics Laboratory (MVRDL) with the help of ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad and Private industry. Developed in record time of 15 days, this is Bio-Safety Level 2 and Level 3 lab which can process more than 1,000 samples in a day. Thus a major contribution in enhancing India’s capabilities in fighting COVID19.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the laboratory via video conference in New Delhi yesterday and while speaking on this occasion Rajnath Singh appreciated the setting up of this lab in a record time of 15 days which usually takes about six months time.He said our Armed Forces are contributing in many ways – such as setting up of quarantine centres, providing healthcare facilities, evacuating Indian Nationals from other countries etc – to fight COVID19 and these efforts will continue.
The function was also attended by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Labour & Employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Telangana’s Minister for IT Industries, Muncipal Administration & Urban Development KT Rama Rao , Minister of Labour Ch Malla Reddy and Secretary of DDR&D & Chairman of DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy.
According to a press release , the first of such Mobile Viral Research Lab (MVRL) 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 in Hyderabad.
” The Mobile Viral Research Lab is the combination of a BSL 3 lab and a BSL 2 lab essential to carry out the activities. The labs are built as per WHO and ICMR Bio-safety standards to meet international guidelines. The system has built in electrical controls, LAN, Telephone cabling, and CCTV, ” said a press release.
According to it features , 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 early clinical trials specific to Indian population. The lab screens 1000-2000 samples per day. This lab can be positioned anywhere in the country, as per requirement.
DRDO acknowledged the contributions of M/s iCOMM for provision of containers, M/s iClean for design and build of the BSL2 and BSL3 labs in a time bound manner, and M/s Hi Tech Hydraulics for providing the base frame.
