Only $1.50 to detect TB infection with the next-generation SIILTIBCY test

The Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility (GDF) announced the expansion of its portfolio with the addition of the novel SIILTIBCY skin test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. SIILTIBCY, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (Pune, India) and marketed in India as Cy-Tb, is available for procurement by any country through GDF for only $1.50 per dose.

The SIILTIBCY skin test is part of a class of next-generation Mtb antigen-based skin tests that are recommended by WHO for detecting Mtb infection.

Unlike the traditional tuberculin skin test (Mantoux test), which can produce false positives due to cross-reactivity with BCG vaccination and nontuberculous mycobacteria, SIILTIBCY uses Mtb-specific antigens, offering improved specificity. Programs familiar with implementing tuberculin skin tests can relatively easily transition to the more accurate SIILTIBCY, as it shares similar procedures for intradermal injection and induration measurement by trained health care workers and requirements for cold chain. Skin tests do not require a laboratory, unlike interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs), another class of WHO-recommended test for Mtb infection.

Read the full announcement here.

For more TB updates, check out the TB CAB Weekly Newsletter (Issue #5, 13 October 2024).

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