Point-of-care rapid diagnostic test for Plasmodium vivax infection to be developed for in-field testing
York, U.K. 27 January 2025: Abingdon Health plc (AIM: ABDX), a leading international developer, manufacturer and distributor of high quality and effective rapid tests, announces that it has been awarded approximately £800,000 as part of total project funding of EUR 5m to develop, and transfer to manufacture, a new intervention for malaria elimination as part of a distinguished group of Institut Pasteur (and its affiliates in Madagascar and Senegal), the Armauer Hansen Research Institute in Ethiopia, FIND, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI). The project is scheduled to begin in February 2025 and be delivered over 24 months.
The funding to Abingdon Health, which will be provided by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the ‘Horizon Europe Guarantee’ scheme, is to allow the Company to lead the development of a point-of-care (POC) rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for Plasmodium vivax (P.vivax) infection to support in-field testing and treatment to facilitate malaria control strategy.
The primary purpose of the PvSeroRDT (P. vivax Serological Rapid Detection Test) project is to develop a POC RDT for field-based implementation that replicates lab-based tests for the detection of P. vivax. Once the RDT has successfully been developed, Abingdon Health will transfer the product to diaTROPIX, a Senegalese manufacturing organisation based at Institut Pasteur Dakar. Establishing African-based manufacturing is important in helping to build new infrastructure, aiming to facilitate the preparation, management, and response to infectious diseases. Abingdon Health is committed to ensuring the support of the scaling up, transfer to manufacturing and support to diaTROPIX, to ensure they are well equipped to deliver PvSeroRDT’s to African communities, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa.
The PvSeroRDT project will contribute a robust POC diagnostic to the pipeline in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is designed to address the World Health Organisation’s preferred product characteristic for P. vivax diagnosis, to translate from an SME prototype to African-based industrial design, to test clinical performance in several African sites, and to facilitate field deployment. This will ultimately secure healthcare provider access to this novel diagnostic, facilitating implementation of P. vivax serological testing and treatment – a new intervention for malaria elimination.
Chris Yates, CEO of Abingdon Health plc, commented: “We are delighted to have won this grant award as part of a world-leading group of institutions. We are excited to add Abingdon Health’s RDT development and manufacturing scale-up expertise to that of our distinguished group of partners. Working with the Institut Pasteur, FIND, LSHTM, and WEHI gives us a great opportunity to produce rapid tests to aid the management of malaria.”
Dr Michael White, Director of Research at Institute Pasteur commented: “We are very pleased to partner with Abingdon Health to develop and manufacture a new rapid diagnostic test for Plasmodium vivax malaria that is poised to make an important contribution to malaria elimination efforts.”
The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Chris Hand, Executive Chairman of the Company.
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Abingdon Health plc |
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Chris Yates, Chief Executive Officer |
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