New diagnostic tool helps develop improved RDTs and support public health surveillance

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)May 31 2019

PATH and Quansys Biosciences, Inc. have announced the launch of a new diagnostic tool designed to help researchers develop more sensitive and reliable malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and to support public health surveillance. The Q-Plex (TM) Human Malaria Array (5-Plex) is a quantitative immunoassay that simultaneously measures multiple malaria antigens.

With almost half of the world's population at risk for malaria and more than 200 million cases annually, the disease is a public health priority. Accurate diagnostics are critical to both disease management and public health surveillance. RDTs are a critical tool in malaria case management, particularly in remote settings, providing access to prompt diagnosis.

Many current RDTs function by detecting the histidine rich protein 2 (HRP2) to identify P. falciparum malaria and the Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) antigen to diagnose P. vivax malaria and all other human malaria species. As RDTs improve in quality, there is a need to understand how these antigens behave in a malaria exposed population so that the performance of these RDTs and their potential to support malaria elimination can be fully assessed.

With a single sample, the Q-Plex (TM) Human Malaria Array can measure HRP2 and pLDH at low concentrations, as well as quantify P. vivax- and P. falciparum-specific LDH epitopes to distinguish between malaria species and C-reactive protein (CRP) as an indicator of inflammation. Researchers can use the Q-Plex (TM) Human Malaria Array (5-Plex) as a reference test to evaluate RDTs in the development pipeline that detect malaria infections with low parasite concentrations and address the challenge of diagnosing P. falciparum malaria parasite strains that do not produce HRP2 and therefore are not detected by RDTs designed to identify the antigen.

Quansys is excited to continue our partnership with PATH in bringing the power of multiplexing to such important world health issues. It aligns perfectly with Quansys' goal to cure the world of communicable diseases by supporting front-line researchers with the most powerful and efficient tools possible."

Chris Lyman, Director of R&D at Quansys Biosciences

"It is important to equip researchers and the public health community with tools like the new Q-Plex (TM) Human Malaria Array, which has high sensitivity, requires a single sample, and may support higher throughput," said Tala de Los Santos, PATH's Global Program Leader, Diagnostics. "These features will assist with the development of improved diagnostics and support use for epidemiologic surveillance."

The Q-Plex (TM) Human Malaria Array (5-Plex) is available and can be ordered directly from Quansys Biosciences.