TB‑LAMP
Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd. (HUMAN)
Solution Overview & Benefits
TB-LAMP ((Loop‑Mediated Isothermal Amplification)) is a test used to find out if someone has tuberculosis (TB). It looks for the DNA of the TB bacteria in a sample, using a method that works at just one temperature (~65 °C) and gives results in less than an hour. The result shows up as a glow under a small UV light, and no complicated machines are needed.
Benefits:
- Higher sensitivity than smear microscopy, detecting ~13 % more TB cases
- Comparable specificity to Xpert MTB/RIF, often ≥98 %
- Fast turnaround time: results in under 1 hour
- Minimal infrastructure: requires heating block, UV lamp, and basic lab skills
- Visual readout requires no advanced equipment or automation
History & Development
TB‑LAMP (the Loopamp™ MTBC Detection Kit) was developed by Eiken Chemical Company Ltd., a Tokyo-based diagnostics firm that invented the LAMP method in the late 1990s and commercialized it for TB detection in the mid-2010s. After WHO endorsement in 2016 as a molecular alternative to smear microscopy, Eiken began working with FIND, a global nonprofit, to expand access in low- and middle-income countries.
To ensure wide global reach (except in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand), Eiken partnered with HUMAN Gesellschaft für Biochemica und Diagnostica mbH—a diagnostics company based in Wiesbaden, Germany—as its exclusive global distributor. HUMAN now supplies TB‑LAMP to over 160 countries and supports training, ordering, and logistics in those regions.
This setup—Eiken as the innovator and HUMAN as the global distributor—has enabled TB‑LAMP to reach more patients with affordable, decentralized molecular diagnostics.
Availability
- Available: worldwide (used in Africa, Asia, and other TB-endemic regions)
- Price: contact solution provider
- Approximately USD 6–9.7 per test, making it 50–70 % cheaper than Xpert MTB/RIF cartridges
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