LumiraDx has secured $14.2m in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the ongoing development of its point-of-care molecular tuberculosis (TB) test system.
The point-of-care diagnostics company is designing the molecular TB test for use with its LumiraDx multi-assay Platform to provide accurate results at a low price payday loans online .
LumiraDx said that its multi-assay platform is the only point-of-care instrument that supports both molecular and immunoassay technologies and runs various sample types.
The company said that its point-of-care TB test will help clinicians to start the treatment process and manage the patient properly to contain the further spread of infection.
LumiraDx CEO Ron Zwanziger said: “The advancement of our TB molecular test signifies an important step forward in LumiraDx’s mission to increase access to accurate and affordable testing worldwide as well as an important step forward in our molecular testing technology.
“The support from the Gates Foundation is critical in our development of the TB test and ensuring it reaches communities where access to testing is most challenged. The availability of these immediate results can be game-changing.”
According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2022 Global Tuberculosis Report, the gap in TB infection and its diagnosis widened in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019.
LumiraDx claimed that its molecular TB test is designed to fill these gaps and requirements in the TB testing market and increase access to testing.
With support from Bill & Melinda foundation, the company is developing the test to include a tongue swab sample, which makes the testing inexpensive and easier for the majority of patients.
The LumiraDx Platform, which is portable, weighs only 1.1kg, and uses a rechargeable battery, allows the TB test to be used across countries with limited access to labs.
LumiraDx has already started pre-clinical studies of the TB molecular test in Africa.
Last month, the company rolled out its C-Reactive Protein (CRP) point-of-care antigen test in India to help reduce undesired antibiotic prescribing that leads to antimicrobial resistance.
