COVID-19 diagnostic kit’s Vadodara connection

NUV’s Academic Advisory Board member plays crucial role

Navrachana University’s member of Academic
Advisory Board and Vadodara’s eminent environmentalist late Dr V V Modi’s,
daughter Dr. Mayuranki has played a crucial role in developing the diagnostic
kit for COVID-19. CoSara is a joint venture between a group company of Ambalal
Sarabhai Enterprises Limited (ASE) and USA’s Co-Diagnostics Inc, that has a
CDSCO approved molecular diagnostic manufacturing plant in Ranoli in Vadodara
district.



Earlier, the company was given the license where it is
already manufacturing kits for TB, Malaria, Hepatitis – B, Human
pappiliomavirus (HPV) and others. Co Sara has received the research test
license from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization which functions
under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Co Sara
is in the process of obtaining a full-fledged manufacturing license.



The company said that this test is designed to use
nasopharyngeal, oro-pharyngeal swab and serum samples to detect the coronavirus
using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine. According to company officials
with no known treatment or approved vaccine for the highly-infectious COVID-19,
the need for accurate and rapid diagnoses has never been greater. Our
cost-effective Covid-19 test has been designed to run on a variety of
commercially available platform.



Dr Mayuranki who is Sr. VP Overseas Operations and Strategic
Alliances is an active Academic Advisory Board member with Division of
Biomedical Sciences and Life Sciences, School of Science, Navrachana University.



“It is a matter of pride for all of us at Navrachana
University,” said Navrachana University Provost Dr. Nilay Yajnik. He added, “We
have signed an MOU with Co Diagnostic USA whose Indian base is with CoSara
Diagnostic Pvt Ltd. This MOU was signed in June 2019 with the intent to
organise joint programs like Workshops, Seminars, talks, training students and
faculties, applying for joint research projects etc. Dr. Mayuranki Almaula,
Co-Diagnostics senior vice-president (Clinical Alliances), is also a member of
our academic advisory board of Biomedical Science.”.



Dr. Almaula is responsible for establishing clinical
verification and validation strategies that support our diagnostic portfolios.
This involves supporting the India-based clinical and manufacturing operations
for our joint venture, Co Sara Diagnostics Pvt Ltd. Dr. Almaula has provided
support in establishing relationships across multiple continents for companies
including Insilico Sciences, as Business Development Director, Gen Probe (now
Hologic), as supporting the Senior Executive VP of Business Development in
defining and executing their India strategy, and Symbiosis Biowares in their
International Business Development strategy. Mayuranki completed a Masters in
Microbiology from Maharaja Sayajirao University Baroda, and a doctorate in
Microbiology from Stanford University.