ICMR set to facilitate development of enhanced diagnostic to detect antimicrobial resistance earlier

In a bid to facilitate development of enhanced diagnostic to detect antimicrobial resistance (AMR) earlier, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has sought proposals from innovators and developers who have developed a diagnostic test that can facilitate timely pathogen detection and susceptibility testing to undertake systematic validation or feasibility study of the test.

AMR is one of the major public health priorities in India. Rapid diagnostics enabling the early pathogen detection and antimicrobial susceptibility testing can equip healthcare professionals to understand the type of infection affecting the patient, analyse its scale and provide appropriate treatment in a timely manner. However, such reliable and quality validated rapid-diagnostics addressing needs of multi-tiered healthcare of India are lacking. Indigenously developed rapid diagnostics are urgently needed to fill this diagnostic gap and to contain AMR in the country.

ICMR’s task force on AMR diagnostics has invited proposals from the innovators and developers having developed a diagnostic test that can detect pathogens in a timely manner to undertake systematic validation of the test. The diagnostics test should have crossed the proof-of-concept stage and should be ready for DCGI regulatory trials.