The Institute for Life Sciences Collaboration (ILSC)
Why Diagnostics

Early detection gives patients time

If kidney damage is detected early, it may be slowed or repaired. Yet in many low-resource settings, testing requires labs, equipment and trained staff that patients cannot reach.

What makes ILSC's approach different

ILSC has licensed a patented method that detects very small protein fragments in urine. These smaller proteins may signal kidney damage earlier than current tests, which look for larger proteins such as albumin.

From lab test to point-of-care test

ILSC is developing this method into a simple urine test strip, similar to a home pregnancy test.

A sample tube in a laboratory rack

How earlier detection works

Standard tests look for albumin, a large protein that leaks into urine once kidney damage is under way. ILSC's test looks for a set of much smaller protein fragments that may appear first.

How earlier detection works Kidney disease progresses from a healthy kidney to early damage, advanced damage and kidney failure. ILSC's test looks for small protein fragments that may appear in urine during early damage. Standard tests look for albumin, which usually appears later. The time between the two is the window to treat. Healthy kidney Early damage Advanced damage Kidney failure Proteins stay in the blood Often no symptoms Symptoms begin Dialysis or transplant ILSC test Looks for small protein fragments that may leak into urine first Standard test Looks for albumin, a larger protein that usually appears later The window to treat Earlier warning can mean earlier care, before damage advances Drop of urine T C Two lines (T and C): signs of possible kidney damage, see a clinician One line (C only): negative, the test worked
ILSC's next clinical study is designed to measure how much earlier its test detects kidney damage compared with the standard albumin test.

Clinical Trial Progress

ILSC's lab method was first validated in urine from 365 diabetic patients. Clinical trials are now building the evidence in the conditions where earlier detection matters most.

Completed and published

Sickle Cell Disease

In a 150-person study with the University of Ghana Medical School and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, ILSC's test identified kidney damage in adults with sickle cell disease as well as the standard albumin test.

Its results did not simply mirror the albumin test, which supports the idea that it detects different, smaller proteins.

Published September 1, 2026 in Frontiers in Medicine (Nephrology): "Clinical evaluation of a novel urinary protein competitive immunoassay in the detection of proteinuria in adults with sickle cell disease."

An expanded clinical trial is planned in the near future.

Read the published study

Protocol approved

Preeclampsia

Building on the sickle cell results, ILSC's preeclampsia study applies the same urinary protein test to pregnant women at risk of preeclampsia, with 200 patient samples planned.

The study protocol has been approved by the University of Ghana Medical School's review board, and the work is being carried out with maternal medicine specialists at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Protocol in development

Diabetes

ILSC's urinary protein method was first validated in diabetic patients. A 300-patient clinical trial is planned, and its protocol is being written.

The team behind the test

The urinary protein test was developed by a team led by Donald Very, PhD, a diagnostics scientist whose work includes six FDA-approved diagnostic tests.

Clinical research is led in Ghana by physicians at the University of Ghana School of Medicine and Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, including specialists in nephrology, hematology and maternal medicine.

A researcher using a pipette in a laboratory

Designed for the places that need it most

Simple

A drop of urine, with results read by eye.

Fast

Results in minutes, at the point of care.

Affordable

Built for communities where health insurance is limited or unavailable.

Accessible

Usable without specialized equipment or clinical training.

Built to reach millions

ILSC already holds the key antibodies and antigens needed to make the urinary dipstick test, and plans to have more than 1 million test strips ready for distribution in 2027.

The first pilot, with partner nonprofit The Unforgotten, is planned for the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya. Camps in Bangladesh, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Jordan are under consideration next.

The UN Refugee Agency serves tens of millions of refugees, many with little or no access to laboratory testing.