Global Health Innovative Technology Fund Invests ¥70M in Molecular Mpox Test

Original from: genomeweb

The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund said Monday that it has invested ¥70 million ($460,000) in the development of a prototype molecular assay to detect mpox.

The test will use Iso-PAS, an inexpensive DNA detection technique that incorporates printed array strips to enable low-cost testing. It will be able to distinguish between MPXV clade I and clade II, which differ in terms of their infection rate and disease severity. A future goal is to register the test on the World Health Organization's Emergency Use Listing.

The assay will be developed and evaluated by Japanese healthcare company Nipro in collaboration with Tohoku University spinout TBA, US-based international nonprofit PATH, the Japan Institute for Health Security, and the Democratic Republic of Congo's Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale. 

The WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, in 2022, and rates of clade I mpox began increasing in 2024.  

The GHIT Fund is a public-private partnership fund, founded by the Japanese government, several pharmaceutical companies, the Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Source: Global Health Innovative Technology Fund Invests ¥70M in Molecular Mpox Test