An aptamer-based diagnostic test for TB meningitis has been patented by AIIMS and THSTI and licensed to AptaBharat Innovation Pvt Limited, a THSTI start-up founded by Dr. Tarun K. Sharma.
A diagnostic test for TB meningitis (the most severe form of TB) with nearly 100% sensitivity and about 91% specificity has been developed by a multi-institutional team led by Prof. Jaya Sivaswami Tyagi (Department of Biotechnology at AIIMS) and Dr. Tarun Kumar Sharma (THSTI) in collaboration with Dr. RML Hospital, IIT-Indore and UTU, Uttarakhand. A rapid, point-of-care diagnostic test for TB meningitis that uses the DNA aptamer has already been adapted to a sensor format and is being evaluated on clinical samples. "While antibodies have to be generated in animals and so will not be of uniform quality, aptamers can be produced in the lab", the newspaper quoted Dr. Tarun on the advantage of using aptamers.
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/aiims-led-team-develops-highly-sensitive-portable-test-for-tb-meningitis/article24541516.ece