SCTIMST signs MoU with WHO as part of C-TAP

SCTIMST signs MoU with WHO as part of C-TAP

This is a significant step forward in ensuring fair and equal access to critical COVID-19-related health technologies for various countries

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Health Organisation (WHO) as part of the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP).

C-TAP is a WHO-led initiative intended to facilitate and support a transparent global mechanism for sharing and pooling knowledge, intellectual property and data related to existing or new COVID-19-related health technologies to scale up their production, supply, availability and affordability in all countries.

C-TAP evolved to the Health Technology Access Pool (H-TAP) and assumed a broader mission that remains anchored in pandemic preparedness and response and also addresses priority diseases and conditions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, SCTIMST had developed an RNA isolation kit and an RT-PCR kit. Both of these kits were transferred to industry and successfully commercialised. In fact, the RNA isolation kit was one of the earliest technologies released into the Indian market during the pandemic from an academic institution. The World Economic Forum had highlighted this as one of the successful technologies that emerged during the pandemic.

This MoU between the WHO and SCTIMST, an institute of national importance under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), is a significant step forward in ensuring fair and equal access to critical technologies for various countries.

The MoU will be formally announced at a function to be held in New Delhi on Friday where Jitendra Singh, the Minister for the Department of Science and Technology, will be the chief guest.

V.K. Saraswat, member of NITI Aayog and the president of SCTIMST; A. Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology and Roderico H. Ofrin, the WHO representative in India will also be present.

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