Lord's Mark Industries has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) to work on sickle cell testing in India. The AI-enabled POS equipment in the country, patented by IIT Bombay, will address challenges associated with sickle cell testing, making it more accessible and convenient with 100 per cent accuracy.  

The announcement was made at a conference in Intercontinental Hotel, Mumbai. Lord's Mark Industries will invest Rs 25 crore to develop and distribute the technology-enabled POS equipment, targeting revenue of Rs 100 crore by the year 2026-27. 

Lord's Mark Industries will use its in-house R&D team to manufacture the sickle cell POS instrument at its IVD manufacturing facility in Vasai. The equipment will be available in government healthcare centres, pathology labs and Lord's Mark Industries' pathology labs throughout the country.  

The microscopy-based test developed by Prof Debjani Paul and her team from the Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering at IIT-B can distinguish between healthy, sickle trait and sickle anemia blood samples at the point of care.  

The collaboration between IIT-B and Lord's Mark Industries aims to revolutionise sickle cell testing in India, providing improved disease diagnosis and management for patients across the country at the point of primary care itself thereby reducing costs and enabling a convenience for affected population. This is the only microscopy test that can actually distinguish carriers from individuals who have sickle anemia within 30 minutes. Typically, the  it would take 24 – 48 hours (about 2 days) to identify the carriers.