Biotechnology company Mylab Discovery Solutions, is one of four companies which have approached the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to create testing and diagnostic kits for the monkeypox virus, according to reports.
Mylab is the company that launched India's first indigenous RT-PCR test kit for COVID-19. The biotech manufacturer had also approached the ICMR for creating vaccines for monkeypox, along with three other biotechnology companies, The Economic Times reported.
The ICMR had sought expressions of interest(EOIs) from biotechnology and vaccine development companies for a monkeypox vaccine in early August.
Managing director and promoter of Mylab, Hasmukh Rawal has confirmed the company's pitch to develop the monkeypox diagnostic testing kit, as per The Economic Times.
The unprecedented spread of the monkeypox virus beyond endemic countries has led to many countries, including the US, Australia, the UK, Singapore, and India seeking vaccines to fight the disease.
India has reported at least 9 confirmed cases of monkeypox and one death. Globally, the monkeypox caseload has crossed 31,800, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.
82 countries with no prior history of monkeypox have reported infections in 2022. 7 countries where monkeypox is endemic, have also reported infections.
The WHO had said that the Jynneos smallpox vaccine could be repurposed to fight monkeypox.
However, the strain of monkeypox isolated by the National Institute of Virology in India, will allow Indian vaccine manufacturers to develop fresh monkeypox vaccines tailored to fight the specific strain of the virus.
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