Cipla has announced its partnership with the Premier Medical Corporation Private Limited for commercialisation of the rapid antigen test kits for COVID-19 in India. The company will commence supply from this week.

This is Cipla’s second launch in the diagnostics space after Elifast: SARS CoV-2 IgG ELISA Test Kit. In this collaboration, Cipla will be responsible for the marketing and distribution of the Rapid Antigen Detection Test for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen that will be manufactured by Premier Medical Corporation Private Limited.

The test is a rapid point-of-care nasopharyngeal swab test that directly detects the presence or absence of coronavirus antigen in the patient’s body, generating results within 15-20 minutes. Only authorised labs are permitted by ICMR to conduct the rapid antigen testing. The test will be marketed under the brand name ‘CIPtest’.

CIPtest is a reliable high-performing kit that has been validated and approved by ICMR. It is found to have specificity and sensitivity of 98.09% and upto 75% respectively. The test is not only rapid with a quick turn-around time, but also enables easy interpretation of results without the need of any additional instrument. Cipla’s expansive distribution network will help in ensuring supply of kits across the country.