Stop TB Partnership

BD and FIND extend TB testing collaboration for vulnerable populations in India

27 March 2012 - Franklin Lakes, USA - Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) have announced a new collaboration to promote access to early and accurate diagnosis of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) among people living with HIV and other vulnerable populations in Karnataka state, India.

The 18 month collaboration will extend an existing pricing agreement, which significantly reduces the price of BD’s BACTEC MGIT mycobacterial detection system. The initiative, in partnership with Kasturba Medical College (KMC), also seeks to establish a new collaboration model in which a private hospital provides critical medical services to public patients.

Helping KMC become an accredited center for performing culture and drug-susceptibility testing, BD will facilitate laboratory staff training at KMC until September 2013, offer BD-FIND negotiated pricing on equipment, and provide technical expertise. The partnership will also facilitate the transportation of samples to enable rapid processing and diagnosis at KMC.

Positive TB results will be sent to district hospitals, helping ensure that MDR and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) patients receive timely follow-up treatment. The programme will also help patients to complete their TB treatment.

"TB is a dangerous disease, and it requires an all-hands-on-deck effort to control it and prevent the rise of drug resistance," said Tom Polen, President, BD Diagnostics Diagnostic Systems. "Through our collaboration with FIND and KMC, we’re helping to do that by ensuring that more people in India will get tested quickly and accurately, and treated appropriately from the beginning."

"The first step to treatment is having an accurate diagnosis," said Philippe Jacon, Chief Executive Officer, FIND. "It is widely acknowledged that affordability, privacy, social stigma, easy access and rapid turnaround time make the private sector a primary choice for nearly 40 percent of Indian patients. Our latest agreement with BD will give a highly disease-threatened community in India access to the technologies and health programs needed for a healthier life."