National and international experts convene for National Diagnostics Conclave in Bengaluru

The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), hosted the first edition of National Diagnostics Conclave, at its Bengaluru campus on 20 April, in the presence of senior leadership including Dr Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of Principal Scientific Advisor (OPSA) to the Government of India; Dr Nivedita Gupta, Scientist G & Head, Communicable Diseases Division, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Dr Harish Iyer, Health R&D, Digital Innovations and AI, Gates Foundation.

The event was convened to chart out a collective vision and strategy for diagnostics innovation and implementation towards greater health equity for India and low and middle income countries (LMICs).

The event launched the National Diagnostics Catapult Impact Report, capturing the programme’s genesis, evolution, and impact. It also unveiled environmental surveillance kits for Real time detection of SARS CoV2, Respiratory syncytial virus, Influenza viruses and Carbapenemase resistance in wastewater.

The InDx Guidance Manual, which highlights key design principles and outlines India’s regulatory pathway for IVD devices was also released.

Panel discussions throughout the day highlighted the strategic pillars of the National Diagnostics Catapult (NDxC) including strengthening the national validation and innovation infrastructure and diagnostics development with priority diseases and public health impact.

Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, Director & CEO, C-CAMP reflected, “In February 2023, we launched the C-CAMP InDx National Diagnostics Catapult in collaboration with Rockefeller Foundation, Gates Foundation and FIND under the guidance of the OPSA with an aim to establish India’s much needed capacity for diagnostics and disease surveillance capabilities in infectious disease domain, beyond and over COVID."

Dr Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India said, “The C-CAMP InDx initiative was conceptualised with support from the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, reflecting a national vision for diagnostics self-reliance. This programme has brought together diagnostic manufacturers and India’s leading research centres of excellence onto a single platform, enabling the identification and bridging of key regulatory and R&D gaps. It has also fostered innovation by facilitating access to reference standards and strengthening evidence generation systems, particularly for infectious diseases where data infrastructure has traditionally been limited.”

Dr Nivedita Gupta, Scientist G and Head of the Communicable Diseases Division, ICMR, appreciated C-CAMP's work and highlighted the ongoing collaboration to develop India-specific, cost-effective multiplex diagnostic panels tailored to local clinical syndromes. She emphasised that such panels will address the significant number of pathogens often overlooked in current International diagnostic frameworks.