Cork firm secures Gates Foundation grant for HIV test

Dr Tara Dalton, Altratech CEO.

Cork diagnostics company Altratech has secured a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate development of an affordable, HIV viral load test designed for use in low and middle-income countries.

The funding will support the company’s efforts to adapt its platform into a portable, easy‑to‑use diagnostic capable of delivering HIV viral load results outside hospital settings.

In an update, Altratech CEO Dr Tara Dalton said the firm will now begin validating its prototype using HIV patient plasma samples. The system currently achieves a detection limit of 1,000 copies per millilitre, in line with World Health Organisation guidelines for viral load monitoring. 

Under the Gates‑funded programme, the company aims to extend performance to whole‑blood testing and reach a target detection limit of 200 copies per millilitre from a 150‑microlitre sample by Q2 2026.

The technology’s ambition is to enable earlier detection of rising viral loads, support more effective treatment monitoring, and reduce HIV transmission, especially in clinics and community settings where laboratory infrastructure is limited.

Dr Tara Dalton, CEO of Altratech, said the grant allows the company to concentrate on core scientific and engineering milestones. “This grant allows us to focus on what matters most at this stage — robust biology, meaningful performance, and a clear pathway to accessibility."

"By taking a fundamentals-first approach, we are building a platform capable of delivering reliable, quantitative diagnostics in settings where traditional laboratory infrastructure is not available.” 

A further development phase, scheduled for 2026–2027, will focus on miniaturising the system into a low‑cost cartridge‑and‑reader format. While HIV is the priority application, Altratech says the platform is being designed to adapt to a wide range of infectious diseases and biomarker‑based conditions.

Registered in Limerick and based in Cork's Forge Hill, Altratech was founded in 2013 and develops and delivers diagnostic tools that can operate at the point of need.