Coronavirus Outbreak: ICMR invites quotations from manufacturers for supply of COVID-19 test kits as cases in India cross 600

New Delhi: In an urgent move towards expanding the coronavirus diagnostics in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has invited quotations from manufacturers for the supply of kits for the testing of COVID-19.

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The move comes in the wake of the number of coronavirus cases crossing the 600 marks in the country with 13 deaths recorded so far.

According to the apex health research body, it will procure seven lakh US FDA-EUA/CE-IVD/ICMR-NIV Pune-approved RNA extraction kits. Any manufacturer with an Indian-based supplier can submit quotations by Thursday 2.30 pm, the ICMR said.

The kits have to be supplied to the ICMR's regional facilities at Mumbai, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bhopal.

The ICMR has asked the kit manufacturers to quote the prices of the kits, along with the number of tests that can be performed with one kit. It has also sought to know the timeline for the supply of the seven lakh kits.

"The ICMR has estimated a tentative requirement of 7,00,000 test kits for which quotations are invited. The requirement is to ensure supply as soon as possible. Hence, please quote your maximum supply capability in the first week, along with a firm commitment for subsequent weeks," it said.

It added that it might opt for parallel contracts to more than one vendor to ensure timely supply.