Imagine having a high-tech security camera system, but for germs. Instead of filming people, it reads the genetic code of viruses and bacteria to see how they are changing and which medicines they can ignore. By checking things like wastewater, it acts as an early warning system to stop outbreaks before they spread.
Traditional disease monitoring is too slow to catch drug-resistant mutations in HIV and TB, leading to ineffective treatments and uncontrolled outbreaks in southern and eastern Africa.
A genomic surveillance network including a low-cost Oxford Nanopore drug resistance test and wastewater monitoring protocols for emerging pathogens.
If you are a medical device manufacturer dealing with slow diagnostic turnaround for TB and HIV — this project developed a low-cost Oxford Nanopore drug resistance test that provides faster, genetic-based results.
If you are a drug development firm dealing with the emergence of drug-resistant strains — this project developed genomic epidemiology data platforms that identify which medicines are failing in real-time.
If you are an environmental monitoring service dealing with undetected urban outbreaks — this project developed wastewater surveillance methods to detect emerging pathogens without needing individual patient samples.
Based on available project data, specific pricing is not listed, but the project has validated a 'low-cost' Oxford Nanopore drug resistance test.
The project is currently in the pilot and capacity-building phase, focusing on transferring technology to national institutes in Mozambique and South Africa.
Based on available project data, there is no mention of specific licensing terms; however, the goal is to make data available in public databases.
It integrates by connecting specialized genomics facilities with national public health institutes to translate scientific data into public health actions.
The project period runs from 2023-05-01 to 2027-04-30, with initial milestones achieved in the first 18 months.
The consortium is lean and highly specialized, consisting of 5 partners across 5 countries. It features a 20% industry ratio with 1 SME, balanced by 2 universities and 2 research organizations. This structure suggests a strong focus on technology transfer from academic research to public health implementation in Africa.
Contact Stellenbosch University regarding the Genomic Epidemiology Network in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Contact us to explore licensing opportunities for the low-cost Nanopore drug resistance tests.
