Mapmygenome has recently announced the launch of a new product Covisafe™, a collection kit for COVID diagnostic testing. CSIR-Centre for cellular and molecular biology validated and certified the kit to be as per ICMR protocols.

The kit developed by the Hyderabad based company consists of a nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swab which, post sampling, is placed in a stabilizing solution containing RNAShield™, a proprietary US FDA approved reagent from US-based Zymo Research.

The solution effectively inactivates the virus without compromising the integrity of DNA/RNA. The reagent does not interfere with the downstream process and need not be removed from the sample, before or during RNA extraction. Mapmygenome is committed to providing COVID-19 reagents and collection kits that DO NOT USE bovine or swine derived ingredients. 

Advantages of Covisafe kit:

• Since the virus is rendered ineffective right after sampling, there is minimal risk to the healthcare providers and staff after the sample is collected.
• Samples collected in the Covisafe kit can be transported safely at ambient temperatures and do not require cold-chain transport.
• The viral samples remain stable for prolonged periods of time and can be kept for up to 30 days at temperatures below 25°C.
• Samples collected in these kits are not vulnerable to degradation during multiple freeze-thaw cycles, unlike VTM samples. 

The Covisafe kit can be used directly in the lab (no preprocessing needed to remove the stabilizer reagent) and is compatible with RNA extraction kits from standard providers such as Roche, Qiagen, ThermoFisher, etc.