A company that provides real-time technologies for networking solutions and medical laboratory systems, BATM has developed a new way of rapid tuberculosis diagnosis.
The testing and validation stage of the new method will commence later this year and the Stop TB Partnership program will provide full funding. The partnership is an international collaboration that comprises different governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The new method is made up of a one-step PCR test created by the group Adaltis subsidiary, including tests on the NATlab instrument with the use of the n isothermal RCA process developed by the Group’s Ador Diagnostics associate company. The PCR test diagnoses if an individual is infected with tuberculosis, if the results come out positive, the NATlab system will be used to find out the TB strain and its resistance antibiotics (which includes isoniazid, quinolones, and rifampicin). The process tests the sample in the two phases and is the results are expected to be gotten in two hours, compared to the conventional way that takes several days which depends on incubation to determine its resistance to antibiotics from when a patient has been diagnosed with TB infection.
The BATM group provided the new method of diagnosis developed in collaboration with a leading Italian university creating the Stop TB Partnership towards the end of 2019 and, following ongoing discussions, has now received the organization’s backing. The testing and validation phases of the new method will be done at the University of Heidelberg and expected to be fully funded under the Stop TB partnership.
The testing and validation phase is expected to start mid 2021 after which the group plans to start the sales of the new tests in 2022.
The CEO of BATM, Dr. Zvi Marom, said: “We are very excited about our new method for the diagnosis of TB and we are delighted to receive the support of the Stop TB Partnership and to work with the University of Heidelberg. We believe that our new method, which utilizes the advanced technologies of Adaltis and, in particular, the NATlab of Ador, will be particularly crucial in preventing the spread of drug-resistant TB strains. We also expect our solution to be more affordable and accessible than those used today.
“The devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB have been with us for centuries and are still here today. It is vital that we develop innovative solutions and systems that will enable this disease, which is a leading cause of death but is both preventable and curable, to be eradicated. Thanks to the advances in molecular diagnostics, we are entering a new era in the fight against infectious diseases. I believe that BATM has an important role to play in this as we focus on developing new, innovative technologies while continuing to provide critical solutions to combat COVID-19.”
The Stop TB Partnership was founded in 2001 to help get rid of tuberculosis as a public health problem. It is made up of 1,700 partners in over 100 countries which includes technical and international organizations, government programs, funding and research agencies, non-governmental organizations, foundations, members from private sectors, and community groups. The group’s headquarters is based in Geneva Switzerland, and the UNOPS (the United Nations Office for Project Services) has administered it since 2015. Before this, the World Health Organization (WHO) hosted it.
The Stop TB Partnership’s one-step PCR test can be used with any standard PCR instrument which takes less than an hour while the NATlab testing system takes around 30-6- minutes. As a result, the solution provided by the group developed for use at the point of care will help in identifying the TB strain within two hours.
