Bengaluru: Syngene International Limited today announced that it has joined a global consortium of 19 organizations from the healthcare industry, led by Bristol Myers Squibb, to help inform, improve and accelerate various aspects of COVID-19 testing, ranging from research to clinical diagnostic applications.

The consortium brings together a diverse group of companies with synergistic areas of expertise, including precision medicine, diagnostics, occupational health, pharmaceuticals and clinical testing laboratories, to help provide clarity and potential solutions to COVID-19 testing challenges. To advance the goals of the consortium, members may:

·         Share relevant expertise, materials and experiences to accelerate understanding of COVID-19.

·         Analyze available scientific and health data, materials and information to develop, improve and deploy current assays and new approaches for the COVID-19 testing paradigm.

·         Contribute knowledge gained from the collaborative research by publishing work that will inform the scientific community and general public of the consortium’s findings.

Mahesh Bhalgat, COO Syngene, said, “Bristol Myers Squibb and Syngene have been research partners for fifteen years. We fully support the aims of the consortium and look forward to sharing our experience and expertise from the last six months including conducting testing of our staff, producing proteins, antibodies and oligonucleotides for diagnostic kits, and operating one of the largest RT-PCR testing private laboratories in Karnataka. The world of medical science is benefitting enormously by sharing information about this coronavirus and we welcome the opportunity to contribute.”

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Syngene has been actively contributing its scientific expertise and resources in the fight against the virus. It has developed high-quality, mammalian-derived viral proteins such as S1, RBD, and N protein meant for diagnostic testing and assays. Its S1 protein was recently approved by ICMR for use in the ELISA testing kit being manufactured by HiMedia. The Company has also developed proprietary tool antibodies (monoclonal and polyclonal) with high affinity and specificity, for use in viral antigen detection and other such tests. It has collaborated with the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) to deliver a high throughput Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) based genomic screening assay that can test 5,000-10,000 samples simultaneously. It has also tied-up with Mylab Discovery Services for manufacture and supply of oligonucleotides (primers and probes) for use in their diagnostic kit.

Syngene’s RT-PCR testing centre has conducted more than 50000 tests and has tied up with over 50 organisations for testing their employees.