102389Production line readiness for high value SAMBA point-of-care Nucleic acid diagnostic test cartridge production.ClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKDRW is marketing a simple, robust point-of-care nucleic acid diagnostic platform, called SAMBA, which allows complex, high-performance tests to be carried out in remote, resource-limited settings in developing countries and primary care settings in developed countries. The first SAMBA tests are for HIV: one to measure HIV viral load for treatment monitoring and one to detect HIV in infants in order to initiate early treatment. Due to WHO recommendation for viral load monitoring and early infant diagnosis in sub-Saharan Africa, the market in the developing world alone will grow to $1 billion/annum by 2017. To meet demand, DRW must automate its test cartridge manufacture to allow a production scale of 1.5 million tests/annum. DRW proposes and requests funding for developing production processes that are appropriate for high-speed assembly and 100% inspection, to produce SAMBA tests for the developed and developing world market.