The Chong Kun Dang Kochon Foundation said on the 30th that it selected India's molecular diagnostics corporations Molbio Diagnostics as the winner of the 18th Kochon Prize.
The Kochon Prize is an international award established in honor of Kochon, the pen name of Chong Kun Dang founder Chair Lee Jong-kun. This year's ceremony was held on the 29th (local time) in Manila, the Philippines, under the theme "Innovation and achievements in the introduction and implementation of new technologies to end tuberculosis."
Molbio Diagnostics developed Truenat, the first point-of-care molecular diagnostic platform to receive an official recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO). Truenat can operate on solar batteries, providing accurate diagnostics even in settings with limited electricity and laboratory infrastructure. It has been used to diagnose more than 40 infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, COVID-19, hepatitis, and human papillomavirus (HPV), contributing to strengthening global health diagnostics systems.
The device has been distributed in collaboration with WHO, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) to countries including India, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Bangladesh. More than 10,000 units have been used worldwide, conducting over 15 million tuberculosis tests. In the Bantayan Islands of the Philippines, the number of tuberculosis screenings increased about 13-fold, and diagnoses rose more than threefold.
In particular, in areas with limited access to medical care such as Timor-Leste and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a mobile diagnostic vehicle called "Lab on Wheels," equipped with X-ray (X-RAY) devices and molecular diagnostic instruments, was introduced, establishing a system that can complete screening, diagnosis, and linkage to treatment on-site within a day.
Molbio Diagnostics chief executive Sriram Natarajan said, "Winning the Kochon Prize is a great honor and a new motivation for our team dedicated to eradicating tuberculosis," adding, "We will continue to accelerate research on new specimen types and the development of new technologies to contribute to human health."
Chong Kun Dang Kochon Foundation Chair Jeong Jae-jeong said, "Molbio Diagnostics has created a new turning point in the global fight against tuberculosis through innovative technology," adding, "We hope that a variety of scientific technologies will be applied to eradicating diseases, including tuberculosis, to provide treatment opportunities even for patients in poor environments."