Joint Project to Improve TB Testing

Two UK companies have been awarded joint funding for research that could see significant advances in the quest to aid detection and eradication of Tuberculosis (TB), across the world. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Orla Protein Technologies (Orla) have been awarded £91,000 by the Technology Strategy Board to investigate improved methods for the detection of TB. This will involve using technology and expertise in areas of molecular and biological diagnostics (Orla), and measurement science and infectious diseases (NPL).

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is the causative agent of almost all cases of tuberculosis, which claims more than 5,000 lives daily largely in the developing world; TB is one of the major lethal factors among AIDS patients. Current methods of TB detection suffer from a need for large sample volumes, long preparation times and different results from different patient groups and the Consortium aims are to help improve the sensitivity, specificity, cost and speed of results.

Max Ryadnov, Project Leader at NPL, said: “The main objective of the project is to demonstrate the possibility of detecting MTB quickly and cost effectively in both clinical and near-patient settings. Such capability is a Holy Grail of modern diagnostics of MTB and would significantly impact on the UK and global healthcare markets.” The study will use techniques developed at NPL for the detection of MTB antigens in a sample and Orla PT’s technology which enables fabrication of protein patterned surfaces responsive to MTB biomarkers.

Dale Athey, Chief Executive at Orla, said: “The development of such procedures will help to substantially improve health systems in resource-limiting settings, particularly in HIV-infected TB cases, where sensitivity remains well below confidence limits for all MTB tests. We hope the project will allow us to significantly improve consistency and enhanced sensitivity for cost-effective, easy to use point-of-care-solutions for the detection and eradication of MTB.”

The project team will also work closely with colleagues in the Health Protection Agency for advice on microbiology, and to arrange testing in a clinical environment.