On May 22, 2003 at the WHO WHA the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) was created. FIND is an independent, non-profit research foundation based in Geneva, launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), and a Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) Stakeholder. With initial funding of $30 million over 5 years by the BMGF, FIND is the only NGO dedicated solely to the development of diagnostic tests for infectious diseases. [1, 2, 3]
The creation of FIND was sold as a means to “develop better diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, with an initial emphasis on tuberculosis” as “TB is still diagnosed with century-old technology, by examining a patient’s sputum under a microscope”. The foundation’s first exccutive director was Dr. Giorgio Roscigno and Dr. Mark Perkins as the scientific director. [4]
“[T]here is an urgent and unmet need for more accurate and cost-effective diagnostic technologies, particularly for diseases devastating the developing world.” The initiative will enable the “development and delivery of much-needed diagnostic tests for poverty-related diseases”. Innovations in biotechnology and modern science could transform both the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, especially in the world’s poorest countries.
FIND will be “governed by a board composed of public health experts, business leaders, influential scientists and patient representatives. Working with specialised agencies, academia and civil society, FIND’s non-profit status will also enable close partnerships with industry to target investment toward promising diagnostics best suited to meet public health needs.”
And so begins the new era of Diagnositics (Dx)