Cepheid announces new TB test for use in developing countries

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company Cepheid on Tuesday announced it has developed a rapid diagnostic test for tuberculosis that it will sell at a reduced cost in developing countries, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The test was developed in partnership with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

According to the Chronicle, the test detects DNA sequences that are unique to TB bacteria. Results for the test, which also can detect drug-resistant TB, are available in two hours or less, David Persing, chief medical officer at Cepheid, said. In addition, the company's test cartridge is about the size of a small wallet and can be read by a separate test reader that is about the size of a text book, making it easy to use in mobile clinics, the Chronicle reports. Cepheid plans to sell the test in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions for the cost of the equipment and shipping. Although the test is expected to be used mostly in developing countries, Cepheid by early 2010 plans to seek FDA approval to use the test in the U.S., Persing said.

Persing said the test is the "most technologically advanced for TB ever developed, yet it is simple enough to perform in all corners of the world, including resource-limited settings where it is most needed" (Tansey, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/25).