Tata's OmiSure: ICMR has approved the first Omicron detection kit

A kit to detect Omicron has been authorised by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). OmiSure is the name of the kit, which is made by Tata Medical and Diagnostics. The decision was made on December 30.

The kit used to identify the Omicron version in India is currently developed by Thermo Fisher, a scientific instrumentation business based in the United States. It detects the variant using the S Gene Target Failure (SGTF) approach.

The viral genes 'S' Gene, ORF, 'N' gene, Rdrp, 'E' gene, and others are used to detect COVID-19 virus. The 'S' gene is not identified in Thermo Fisher's Taq Path RT-PCR test in the case of the Omicron variation due to a mutation in the gene, although other gene targets such as the ORF gene and the N gene are. PTI spoke with Krishna Khairnar, a scientist at the CSIR-NEERI in Nagpur, "The occurrence is called 'S' Gene Target Failure (SGTF) positive cases. Such samples can be presumptively reported as Omicron positive and can be sent for fast-track genome sequencing for confirmation."

Moreover ICMR, on December 17, had invited EoI by December 22 for the "transfer of technology for development and commercialisation of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) real time RT-PCR assay".

ICMR stated in their EoI to develop and commercialise its Omicron detection kit that it had created a unique technique and a kit to identify Omicron variants. It stated that it owns the technology in question, as well as any underlying intellectual property and commercialization rights.