Hanks Tb Diagnostics (Pty) Ltd company information, Employees & Contact Information

HANKS TB DIAGNOSTICS is a spin-off company with the mission of developing an accurate, affordable, fast and mobile diagnostic test to diagnose and monitor the active tuberculosis (TB) disease. The test is a molecular based platform technology that consists of a custom designed consumable kit and processing hardware that enables sample analysis. Currently the platform technology, with the inclusion of a live/dead differentiation step, can diagnose active TB from a crude processed sputum sample within 90 minutes at a cost of US$5 and a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 90% in a cohort of first diagnosis and antibiotic treatment follow-ups. The test has the capability of drug resistance testing on the same sample collected for initial screening. This test algorithm has a large cost saving implication. Initial funding and support were received for the project from the South African Medical Research Council, the North-West University and The Innovation Hub’s Biopark Incubator Programme. The main shareholders are the North-West University and BGM Pharmaceuticals with Nebraska University-Lincoln, USA as a collaborator. Our vision is to build the expertise and facilities for the manufacturing of molecular diagnostic hardware and kits locally.