Patients can heave a
sigh of relief. A new diagnostic test kit can now detect symptoms of
critical infections very quickly -- in seven to eight hours compared to
the average 72 hours and more it takes in conventional tests, leading to
quicker diagnosis and treatment of the infection.
The kit will
reduce exorbitant testing charges and extended hospital stay costs for
patients. The kit has been invented by Bangalore-based molecular
diagnostics company, XCyton, with Rs 6-crore assistance from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and private investors, including Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
The invention known as Syndrome Evaluation System (SES) has been
described by American-based investors as the fastest, simplest, elegant
and most cost-effective testing kit or tool in the world that can in
just one test detect multiple bugs/organisms at work in critical
infections.
"There are many diagnostic kits that do the same
thing across the world but we haven't yet come across one that does it
as rapidly and inexpensively as this kit does. We come from the
Massachussets area where a lot of inventions do happen and we have come
to this inference based on substantial research," said Ketan Patel of Fidelity, which has invested $ 4.5 million in product development and commercialization.
What infections
The invention is targeted at speedier treatment of brain-related
infections, sepsis, eye infections, cancer-related ailments, lung,
joint, spine-related infections among others, which means people
afflicted with these infections can expect faster test results, therapy
and treatment now.
Scientist BV
Ravi Kumar, XCyton founder and CMD, told TOI, "The new testing tool
will identify the work of multiple organisms - bacteria, virus, fungi
and parasites - in just one sample - that were causing a particular
infection."
"Multiple tests to detect each of these organisms
are no longer necessary. The test kit will show up all these different
organisms at work in one test within seven to eight hours, as compared
to the 3-7 days' time conventional tests take. One test in place of
multiple tests will now reduce patients' bills," Kumar explained.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,
CMD, Biocon who has invested in her private capacity said: "I can
relate to XCyton the very same way I built Biocon. Success for a biotech
enterprise is about going from failure to failure without giving up. To
get the correct outcomes, it all starts with correct diagnostics. We
are poor at diagnosis and rush to treat patients. We use antibiotics as
one-size-fits-all approach. Very often it doesn't work and has
disastrous effects. Everyone thinks it's easy to build a company in
biotech, because they often confuse it with IT. Biotech has huge
challenges. The whole basis of discovering things, and validating those
findings and translating them into commercial success is a much-harder
journey. There are regulatory and scientific challenges. XCyton
represents the new innovative India."
Shaw added that the biotech sector did not support the compulsory licensing recently accorded to Indian company for a cancer
drug. "We felt this was not the cancer drug that needed compulsory
licensing. It was only benefiting a minority segment, and by doing this,
we are giving the wrong signals. We are frivolously giving away
compulsory licensing. We are determined to innovate in biotech sector."
