“introducing New Tools Project (iNTP)”: Largest Multi-Country Roll-out of the Truenat Technology for TB Diagnosis

KOCHI:
After the successful domestic rollout of Truenat® MTB by the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program, a multi-country rollout has been initiated by the “introducing New Tools Project (iNTP)”, a collaboration between the Stop TB Partnership, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in 9 high TB burden countries in Asia and Africa.

The roll-out package enables uptake of WHO-endorsed innovation in diagnostics, treatment and digital health technologies to strengthen TB care in high-burden countries. The New Tools Project aims to Improve access to rapid molecular testing through the introduction of Truenat as the initial diagnostic test in peripheral health facilities as a replacement of sputum smear microscopy as mandated by WHO.

The countries covered in the first phase are Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Truenat Installations are completed in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, DR Congo, Philippines, Uganda and Kenya while it’s underway in Bangladesh and Vietnam.

According to the USAID report of 2021, Despite improvements in testing and treatments over the years, the prevalence of Tuberculosis remains significantly higher, especially in rural areas due to barriers in accessing healthcare services. Delays in testing have led to further transmission of the disease and have posed a significant challenge to TB elimination efforts.

Molbio Diagnostics’ Truenat® is a point-of-care platform endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for rapid molecular detection of Tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance.

Truenat® is a portable, battery-operated, IoT-enabled, point-of-care Real Time PCR platform with a turn-around time of less than 1 hour that can be deployed even in resource-limited settings and remote areas. In addition to TB, the Truenat® platform can test for over 35 other diseases.

Commenting on the initiative, Sriram Natarajan, Founder, Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Molbio Diagnostics, said, “We are happy to be part of the Global Tuberculosis elimination initiative and are committed to the global elimination target of TB by 2030. We will continue to develop technologies and solutions for a better world.”

Also commenting on the initiative, Dr. Chandrasekhar Nair, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Molbio Diagnostics, stated, “We are glad that our product Truenat® is serving the purpose it was designed for, providing universal access to state-of-the-art technologies and saving lives.

Molbio Diagnostics’ Truenat® platform can be very impactful in the TB detection and elimination program because of its ability to accurately diagnose the disease at the point of care and provide test results in less than an hour. Even in rural areas with resource-limited settings, diagnosis and treatment initiation can happen on the same day.”