There were an estimated 8.8 million new cases of TB in 2010 and an estimated 1.4 million deaths, making this disease one of the world's biggest infectious killers. It is estimated that 1/3 of the global population is infected with latent disease. Disease transmission occurs primarily via droplets from coughing and sneezing. Early diagnosis and treatment of infective cases is key to preventing the spread of TB. ProteinLogic have established a unique protein ‘signature’ which can discriminate infectious cases from latent carriers of the disease. To become commercially competitive this signature requires further validation. This project aims to identify additional markers which can contribute to the acceptability of the test. This project will enable ProteinLogic to refine the test & check feasibility on clinical samples as a critical step towards the goal of introducing a test that could save millions of lives.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

Hepatitis B is the most common chronic viral disease in the world with over 350 million chronic carriers. Taking into account the recent migration patterns it is estimated that that there are now more than 300,000 people in the UK with HBV infection and, of these, 78,000 have Chronic Hepatitis B infection. NICE recommends that interferon be used as the first line treatment for Chronic Hepatitis B. However interferon treatment has a long duration (6-12 months), considerable side effects including fever, neurological and gastrointestinal disorders and whilst it can be very effective only 30% of patients respond to treatment. ProteinLogic has identified biomarkers that can be used as a simple diagnostic blood test for the prediction of response to treatment with interferon in patients with chronic HBV infection before start of treatment, therefore providing significant benefits to patients and saving healthcare costs in the UK and worldwide.

There were an estimated 8.8 million new cases of TB in 2010 and an estimated 1.4 million deaths, making this disease one of the world's biggest infectious killers. It is estimated that 1/3 of the global population is infected with latent disease. Disease transmission occurs primarily via droplets from coughing and sneezing. Early diagnosis and treatment of infective cases is key to preventing the spread of TB. ProteinLogic have established a unique protein ‘signature’ which can discriminate infectious cases from latent carriers of the disease. OJ-Bio have developed a rapid diagnostic sensor platform suitable for point-of-care tests. This project aims to show feasibility of quanitification of ProteinLogic TB biomarkers in serum using the OJ-Bio platform. It will enable ProteinLogic and OJ-Bio to collaborate to further develop their technologies together in order to develop a rapid point-of-care blood test for TB.

Tuberculosis (TB) is responsible for over four million deaths each year. Globally there were an estimated 8.9 million new cases during 2011 and it is also a concern in the UK where there are approximately nine thousand new cases each year. Early detection and treatment is important to prevent the disease from spreading. Current diagnostic tests either lack accuracy or are not affordable or accessible to most TB patients. Delayed diagnosis is associated with reduced rates of cure. Of particular concern is our inability to diagnosis extra-pulmonary disease and TB in children or to differentiate latent infection from active TB disease. The aim of this project is to develop an in vitro diagnostic device that would for the first time offer rapid diagnosis of all forms of active TB disease from a single, easy to collect sample (blood). Previous research by the applicants has revealed characteristic soluble proteins present in the blood of TB patients and we will combine a panel of these markers on a single detection device. A small consortium has been created where scientists with expertise on TB biomarkers shall work with technologists who have designed and built a platform for detection of multiple markers in blood. Additional 'known' markers reported in the scientific literature may also be used to maximise sensitivity and specificity. The device will be optimised and evaluated using samples from South Africa and India. A prospective study will be undertaken in Cape Town to validate the device in situ. The primary output will be the final research prototype of the MicroLogic point-of-care test for active tuberculosis disease. We will formulate full technical and commercial plans to exploit the results of the project.