RGCB gets Rs 7 crore MAHA MedTech grant for cervical cancer blood test device

The BRIC-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram says a project to develop an automated device that would look for early signs of cervical cancer in a blood sample has won a Rs 7 crore grant from the MAHA MedTech Mission. The institute announced the grant in a news item on its website dated September 2026, which gives no exact day. The Indian Practitioner reported the grant on 17 October 2026, citing a press release.

RGCB describes the MAHA MedTech Mission as launched by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Gates Foundation. A Ministry of Science and Technology release of 25 October 2025 said ANRF had launched the mission in collaboration with ICMR and the Gates Foundation. Neither source says what role each body plays in funding this grant.

According to The Indian Practitioner, RGCB Director Dr Beena Pillai said ANRF received more than 1,000 proposals under the mission, of which 33 were selected for support. The report says she expressed pride in the team’s success in securing the grant; it paraphrased rather than quoted her. Neither RGCB nor the report gives the grant’s duration, release schedule, milestones or target dates.

What the project covers

The device is designed to detect a piRNA-based biomarker in blood using nanopore technology, according to RGCB. The aim, according to The Indian Practitioner, is to reduce the need for invasive diagnostic procedures and specialised expertise, so that testing could eventually take place outside specialised laboratories.

RGCB names Dr Ani V. Das, Dr Mahendran K. R. and Dr Jackson James as the project team at the institute; The Indian Practitioner identifies Dr James as the lead researcher. Two companies are named as partners: IndZita Biotech Private Limited, a start-up in Thiruvananthapuram, and Karkinos Healthcare Private Limited. Neither RGCB nor the report describes the commercial terms between the institute and the partners, including any licence or manufacturing arrangement.

Dr James said, according to the report, that the idea is to make the technology simple enough to be used beyond specialised laboratory settings, with a patient providing only a blood sample and the automated system carrying out the analysis.

Where the technology stands

The work is at an early stage. According to RGCB, the technology has been patented, it has cleared laboratory-scale validation in cell cultures and mouse models, and a pilot study using human blood samples has been completed at laboratory scale. Work on an early-stage prototype is under way. The Indian Practitioner says further studies are needed to establish diagnostic accuracy, reliability and clinical suitability, and that clinical validation and regulatory approval are required before routine use. Neither source reports any regulatory approval for the device, and no timeline for clinical studies was given.

RGCB’s news page also lists earlier nanopore work by its researchers, including an August 2026 item on nanopore sensors for the early detection of Parkinson’s disease.

Our reading

• The Healthcare Daily’s reading: this is grant money for a prototype, not a product approaching the market. Laboratory chains and diagnostics distributors have no product, price, approval or timeline to plan around yet.
• Naming two companies as partners at the grant stage suggests an intended route to manufacture and deployment. Without disclosed terms, it is not clear who would hold commercial rights if the device works.
• If the reported figure of 33 selections from more than 1,000 proposals is accurate, the MAHA MedTech Mission is a narrow pipeline. Manufacturers and investors looking for licensing opportunities will want the full list of awardees, which neither RGCB nor the report includes.
• The report itself says clinical validation and regulatory approval must come first. In our view those steps, rather than the grant, are what would decide whether a blood-based test of this kind reaches screening programmes.