In this ongoing battle against the coronavirus, a lot of (sh)heroes have emerged. Doctors, nurses, hospital staff, grocery and delivery personnel, and sanitation workers, all of them are standing at the front lines of this war and continue to fulfill their duty unfailingly. Adding to this list is virologist Minal Bhosale, the wonder woman who delivered India’s first coronavirus testing kit in six flat weeks while being in the last stage of her pregnancy.
India’s First Homegrown Coronavirus Testing Kit
Minal Dakhave Bhosale is Research and Development Chief of Pune-based Mylab Discovery. She and her team of 10 managed to provide the coronavirus testing kit for evaluation to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) on March 18, a day before she delivered her daughter.
And the ‘shero’ that she is, an hour before she was rushed to the hospital, she also submitted her proposal to the Indian FDA and drugs control authority CDSCO for commercial approval of the testing kit. She then gave birth to her baby through a Caesarean delivery.
“It was like giving birth to two babies,” Bhosale told PTI over the phone.
The coronavirus testing kit called Patho Detect was completed in record six weeks instead of three or four months. However, she credits the strong bond among her teammates and their constant support which made this feat possible.
The Kit Delivered By Mylab Is Affordable and Achieves 100% Results According To ICMR
The COVID-19 testing kit delivered by Minal and her team will reduce the time taken for delivering a test result from the usual 6-7 hours (taken by imported kits) to 2.5 hours.
Having worked for 5 years in this field, Bhosale says that it was the right time for her to serve the people of her country. “If I don’t work in emergency situations when my services are needed the most, then what is the use?” she said.
And what’s an inspirational story without challenges, right? While work on the kit was going on, Minal developed complications in her pregnancy. But in the end, her persistence and the team’s hard work paid off.
Before submitting the kits for evaluation, the team had to check for all the parameters to ensure accurate test results. “If you carry out 10 tests on the same sample, all 10 results should be the same. And we achieved that. Our kit was perfect,” Bhosale said. Apart from its accuracy, what makes the kit practical is the cost. The Mylab test kit will cost ₹ 1,200, which is literally a quarter of what the government has been spending on testing so far (₹ 4,500 per kit).
Ms. Bhosale, you delivered not just the test kit and your baby , but you also delivered a ray of hope to the country. We stand and salute you… https://t.co/iqQgQvBzg3
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 28, 2020
Minal’s story has become an inspiration for many, including industrialist and business tycoon Anand Mahindra, who said that Minal has delivered a ray of hope for the country.
Here’s to more women rising up to the occasion and helping us with the fight against this pandemic. Thank you, Minal for all your efforts!