The first phase of this collaboration grant will be a feasibility study using reagents developed by Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to develop assays on the Ramp system that show appropriate sensitivity in a point-of-care setting for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB).
The Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI) will provide tuberculosis diagnostic expertise and comparison testing using an Elisa assay. If the first phase is successful, the second phase will involve testing optimized assays on simulated samples at Response Biomedical and simultaneously testing live TB samples at SBRI’s biosafety containment level three lab. Final development of the Ramp-based TB diagnostic product would follow the second phase of the grant.
Under the terms of the agreement, should a TB diagnostic product ensue from the work now being funded, FIND will have rights to market and distribute the product for developing countries, while Response Biomedical will have rights to market in the rest of the world. For all markets, Response Biomedical will maintain rights to manufacturing the product. Terms and pricing for the product are still to be negotiated.
Wayne Kay, CEO of Response Biomedical, said: “We look forward to working with FIND on the project. We believe the Ramp technology will be shown to be ideally suited in diagnosing tuberculosis in the developing world and in other markets around the globe. We hope that this grant begins the framework of a long-lasting collaboration with FIND.”