On 2nd April, 2020, Serum Institute India’s Chief Executive Officer, Adar Poonawalla, shared that he has invested in the Pune-based molecular diagnostic company, Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (MDS) – the first Indian firm to get commercial approval to make and sell coronavirus testing kits (named Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit, approved by Indian FDA/CDSCO and ICMR evaluation). The investment will help scale up the production and delivery of Covid-19 test kits as well as expand molecular diagnostic solutions. MDS has also roped in another investor – Abhijit Pawar, Chairman, APG.

This comes in at a time when the number of Coronavirus cases in India have crossed the 2,000 mark, after several states reported a spurt in infections linked to a religious congregation in Delhi. Maharashtra reported the highest number of cases, followed by Kerala. 

Adar Poonawalla said global innovation was the need of the hour to curb the pandemic that has affected millions across the world. “In the next few weeks, we will be ramping up the production of the Covid-19 testing kits taking from 1.5 lakh tests per week, to 20 lakh tests per week. The shortage of testing kits will come to an end in a month or two,” Adar Poonawalla said, in a press statement.

He praised MDS for having shown exceptionally innovative capabilities for being able to develop a time-saving testing kit within six weeks of its outbreak. “Keeping in mind their resilient approach and quick response, I am certain that the company has a variety of similar innovation-driven projects which will help bring drastic improvements in the healthcare sector. The investment towards Mylab will enable them to build their infrastructure and expand their capabilities further,” said Poonawalla. 

“This partnership can impact billions of people across the world, especially India,” said Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director, Mylab Discovery Solutions.

The partners are yet to disclose the investment details.