Cepheid Receives $3.3M From NIAID To Develop New Rapid Molecular TB Test

The molecular diagnostics company Cepheid on Wednesday announced that it has received a $3.3 million grant from NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to accelerate the development of a new rapid molecular tuberculosis diagnostic test, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (AP/Houston Chronicle, 8/30). The company in May announced that it would begin working with the Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics -- a Geneva-based not-for-profit organization that receives funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- to develop the test for use in developing countries (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, 8/30). Researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, led by TB expert David Alland, are working with Cepheid to develop the test, which also will be designed to detect drug-resistant TB. The test will be designed to operate on Cepheid's GeneXpert System -- a molecular testing system that rapidly produces accurate results from almost any type of biological sample and has a low risk of contamination (GlobalHealthReporting.org, 5/24). The NIAID funding aims to complement those efforts by aiding the development of sample collection devices and technologies associated with the implementation of the GeneXpert system. Cepheid's collaborations with FIND and NIAID aim to produce a rapid test that is more accurate and efficient that current TB diagnostic methods (Cepheid release, 8/30). Cepheid said the test could reduce the time needed to wait for results from weeks or months to one hour (DeWeese, Dow Jones, 8/30).