New Delhi, Feb 23: The Union Science and Technology Ministry has added six private laboratories to the network of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) tasked by the government to sequence Covid-19 samples. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on Tuesday approved the inclusion of six private genomic-sequencing labs from three metro cities, including the national capital, a department memorandum said.
The labs are Strand Life Sciences, Genotypic Technologies, Medgenome, and Eurofins Genomics India Pvt Ltd from Bengaluru; Mahajan Imaging Pvt Ltd from Delhi and Neuberg Supratech Reference Labs Pvt Ltd from Ahmedabad. The INSACOG, jointly initiated by the Union Health Ministry and DBT with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is a consortium of 38 laboratories that monitor the genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2.
The network of laboratories under the INSACOG carries out whole-genome sequencing of SARS-Cov-2 to identify existing Variants of Concern (VoCs), Variants of Interest (VoIs) and new mutations and variants which could help in the understanding of the correlation of genomic variants with how the virus spreads, disease severity and provide information for public health response.
With the latest inclusion, the strength of the INSACOG network has grown to 44 laboratories. However, their inclusion is subject to certain conditions, according to the official memorandum. “The sequencing costs are to be met by the private laboratory and charges cannot be levied on patients. The labs will be required to indicate the source of funding to undertake sequencing activities,” it said. “Sequencing information will be confidential and not shared with any third party, media or the public. The private labs will preserve the RNA samples for a specific period, among other terms and conditions, to ensure the quality of sequencing,” the memorandum said.
