Dhoni stars in ad for self-testing COVID kits by Meril Diagnostics

The campaign aims to encourage and educate consumers on testing, and shows them how to do it themselves at home.

Global medtech company Meril Diagnostics has just announced cricket icon MS Dhoni as the face of CoviFind, its COVID self-test kit. Kickstarting its CoviFind campaign, Meril has just unveiled two digital films and television commercials (TVCs), starring Dhoni. The campaign aims to encourage and educate consumers on testing, bring awareness to self-testing, and highlight the ease and convenience of testing at home.

The campaign is built on the idea of easing the process of testing to alleviate COVID-associated fears and overcome testing hassles in India. Echoed in the campaign’s tagline ‘Doubt Ko Karo Out’, CoviFind is a quick and convenient solution to test promptly, if one is experiencing any symptoms, in the comfort of one’s own home. At-home testing helps overcome the fear of infections in just 15 minutes.

Sanjeev Bhatt, senior vice president, corporate strategy, Meril, said, “Rapid, accurate and affordable diagnostic solutions are essential to break the chain of virus transmission. To encourage self-testing in India, we are delighted to have MS Dhoni on board, to advocate proactive health behaviours.”

Against the backdrop of the nation celebrating its 75th year of Independence, CoviFind poses a convenient testing solution. It empowers people to return to work and daily life activities in a safe and responsible manner. Self-tests such as CoviFind are also a key asset for preparedness in India, with a third wave in proximity.

Alongside raising awareness on the need for testing in India, while encouraging a wider audience to proactively help curb the spread of the pandemic, Meril is also rapidly scaling access to its CoviFind test kits to benefit people across the country. Meril has collaborated with Piramal Pharma for pharmacy distribution of CoviFind. Meril aims to make three million to five million self-test kits available across the country, on online and offline distribution channels.

Nitish Bajaj, CEO, India Consumer Product’s Division, Piramal Pharma, said, “The threat of COVID global pandemic is yet to be completely vanquished. Streamlining access to fast and accurate testing, and reporting will be a significant step towards identifying and arresting the spread of transmission. Through our collaboration with Meril, we will accelerate the availability of CoviFind self-test kits across Piramal’s national distribution channels. We will also train and educate pharmacists at the last mile to ensure the understanding is provided to the consumers.”

Facilitating on-ground pharmacist and consumer education, Piramal will also oversee a team of 1,200 individuals across various distribution touchpoints. They will equip pharmacists with reliable information on testing, administration procedure and reporting of test results, facilitating responsible testing.

By raising awareness and scaling access of COVID self-tests, Meril aims to meet the country’s testing needs with affordable and effective diagnostic solutions.

About Meril’s self-use rapid antigen test CoviFind

It is an in-vitro diagnostics rapid immunoassay kit for rapid and qualitative determination of SARS-CoV-2 infection from nasal swab specimens. The test is authorised, with approval from DCGI and ICMR, and intended for non-prescription home use as a self-test with self-collected nasal specimens. The test has demonstrated high effectiveness in detecting in symptomatic cases with mid to high viral load.

The CoviFind test kits are priced at Rs 250 and available across retail pharmacies, e-pharmacies, including Tata 1mg, PharmEasy , via e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, and through Meril’s dedicated website for CoviFind (covifind.com). Additionally, a special 25-test kit option is also available, catering to larger orders to meet testing needs of institutions and small and large businesses.