Maggie Throup MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diagnostics and former Minister for Vaccines and Public Health will be meeting members of BIVDA.
Doris-Ann Williams, Chief Executive of BIVDA, comments that the reception aims to showcase the power of In Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) and their role in improving the health and wellbeing of the whole UK population and addressing acute health system challenges.
PBD Biotech has developed a phage-based diagnostic, Actiphage®, that detects active tuberculosis disease at an early stage. The rapid test detects the pathogen in the blood before the patient becomes infective, thereby enabling the preventative treatment and stopping the cycle of infection.
Targeting of treatment
Chief Commercial Officer Jonnie Yewdall comments: “The host immune biomarkers currently in use can tell us about the presence of current or previous TB infection but cannot discriminate between the two.
“Pathogen-directed biomarkers, such as Actiphage, may be complementary to the current host immune markers, allowing us to discriminate between people who do and potentially don’t require treatment for their TB infection. This would enable targeting of treatment – that’s very powerful.”
Diagnostics APPG
The Diagnostics APPG was launched in February 2023, with its secretariat run by The Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Radiologists. Part of its scope is a review of the Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC).
CDCs are a new type of NHS facility that provide a range of different tests, checks and scans. They were introduced in England in July 2021, and are intended to increase the country’s diagnostic capacity and reduce the pressure on hospitals, thereby improving people’s health.
The Government and NHS announced in May 2023 that it aimed to deliver over 160 community diagnostic centres across England by 2025. They are expected to provide over 500,000 additional tests, checks and scans a year and reduce the pressure on acute care hospitals.
Maggie Throup, chair of Diagnostics APPG
Maggie Throup MP is a scientist-turned-businesswoman. After obtaining an Honours degree in Biology from Manchester University, she began her career as a biomedical scientist at Calderdale Health Authority. During her time there, she became a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science specialising in haematology, before moving into medical diagnostics sales and marketing with a pharmaceutical company. She has held the Derbyshire constituency of Erewash since 2015.
Find out more about BIVDA at bivda.org.uk.
Photos from the event: