COVIRAP has been granted US patent

IIT Kharagpur's COVIRAP diagnostic technology has been granted US patent 

Although US patents from the Indian Academic System are not uncommon, COVIRAP's grant of a US patent in September 2022 stands out because it was entirely developed at IIT Kharagpur without any external assistance.

The healthcare sector in India has experienced substantial expansion during the past two years. However, access to high-quality, reasonably priced healthcare is still difficult in many areas of the country, and healthcare provision is still uneven.

In April, 2022, IIT Kharagpur has successfully commercialised COVIRAP, their bestselling medical product, a cutting-edge diagnostic tool for identifying infectious disorders like COVID-19.

In cooperation with IIT Kharagpur, Rapid Diagnostic has also started modifying the COVIRAP technology platform for COVID-19 and tuberculosis.

The Rapid Diagnostic Group of Companies in India and Bramerton Holdings LLC in the United States have been granted licences to commercialise the product, which was developed by lead researchers Professor Suman Chakraborty, Dr. Arindam Mondal, and their research team.

The market for medical devices has expanded significantly over this time and is essential to every stage of the healthcare continuum. A number of ecosystem constraints have resulted in a heavy dependence on imports for meeting domestic demand, despite the fact that it has played a crucial role in enhancing access and affordability to healthcare services.

The current dynamics of supply and demand offer a considerable opportunity and justification for medical device production in India. The "Make in India" project of the Indian government offers a platform for the industry to review its operating principles, pinpoint important growth drivers, and investigate potential avenues for bringing about a step change in the medical devices market.