SD Biosensor, Inc., South Korea's global in-vitro diagnostics company, has announced the signing of a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the research and development (R&D) of new products targeting extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) using its Point-of-Care (POC) molecular diagnostic platform "STANDARD M10".

The MoU was signed with the Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (RIT/JATA), and Korea's International Tuberculosis Research Center.

Under this MoU, the three organisations plan to pursue active collaboration on: product research and development; performing research and verifying feasibility; product approval and commercialisation, etc., all under the common goal of "research and development of new products for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis".

Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) refers to a form of tuberculosis that is resistant not only to primary drugs used for treatment (multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, MDR-TB, or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis, RR-TB), but also to fluoroquinolone, a second-line drug, and at least one drug from Group A. The mortality rate of patients who develop resistance to these drugs is known to exceed 25%. Therefore, rapid diagnosis and the use of appropriate medications are crucial. The products for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, which will be developed through this MoU with SD Biosensor's POC molecular diagnostic platform M10 are expected to contribute to the eradication of tuberculosis in high-risk Asian countries.

HyoKeun Lee, the CEO of SD Biosensor said, "With this MoU as a turning point, we believe that through collaboration of the three parties, we will be able to develop even more innovative and high-performance M10 products for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, which will facilitate personalised medication prescriptions."