TwistDx

What TwistDx does

TwistDx Limited is a UK-based biotechnology company that develops and manufactures Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA), a proprietary isothermal nucleic acid amplification technology positioned as a portable, lower-equipment alternative to PCR. The core product line, sold under the TwistAmp® brand, consists of lyophilized kits (Basic, exo, NFO) and liquid-format bulk components (Liquid Basic, Liquid exo), along with control templates, oligo mixes, and validated integrations with third-party lateral flow strips (Milenia HybriDetect and PCRD). The technology generates single-molecule-sensitive results in 3–10 minutes without thermal cycling, cold storage, or expensive thermocycler equipment, making it suited to field, point-of-care, and resource-limited settings. Primary use cases include infectious disease diagnostics, food contamination testing, agricultural and environmental biosecurity, and general nucleic acid research and assay development.

TwistDx was founded in 1999 (with company registration dated 2009) and was acquired by Alere, Inc. in 2010 for up to $125 million in contingent consideration. Abbott Laboratories subsequently acquired Alere in 2016, and TwistDx now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within Abbott's global point-of-care division. All TwistDx products carry Abbott/TwistDx branding and are sold through Abbott's international commercial infrastructure via the point-of-care website, with order intake routed through [email protected] and quote-based enterprise pricing.

The business model is research-use-only kit sales (one-time unit purchases of 96-reaction packs) to research institutions, diagnostic developers, and food safety testing laboratories. Revenue mechanics are quote-based B2B sales, with no public pricing disclosure and no recurring software or service component. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed; growth is most likely tracking the broader nucleic acid amplification testing market, which is projected to reach $22.1B by 2030 at a 14.8% CAGR. A 2026 legal dispute regarding 2010 earnout payments was resolved in favor of the defendants, an event that does not affect current operations.

Name

TwistDx

Legal name

TwistDx™ Limited

Website

https://twistdx.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

TwistDx Limited, a wholly-owned Abbott subsidiary, develops TwistAmp Recombinase Polymerase Amplification kits as a rapid, isothermal alternative to PCR for nucleic acid detection in field, point-of-care, and research settings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Molecular Diagnostics Reagents

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

IVD Reagents, Assay Kits & Consumables (Non-instrument) (HLAHAAAM)

Keywords

• Isothermal nucleic acid amplification
• Recombinase polymerase amplification
• Molecular diagnostics reagents
• DNA amplification kits
• Point-of-care diagnostics

Headquarters

HQ city

Maidenhead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. TwistAmp Kit Sales: Sale of lyophilised and liquid RPA kits for research and development purposes. Products include TwistAmp Basic, exo, NFO, and Liquid variants sold in pack sizes (96 reactions). Revenue generated through direct sales via Abbott Point of Care division.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

TwistDx manufactures and sells proprietary Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) kits used as an isothermal alternative to PCR for rapid nucleic acid amplification and detection. The core TwistAmp product line includes lyophilised and liquid format kits (Basic, exo, NFO, and Liquid variants) that deliver results in 3-10 minutes without requiring a thermocycler, enabling field, point-of-care, and resource-limited molecular diagnostics applications.

Product overview

TwistDx offers a portfolio of Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) kits as a versatile PCR replacement technology for rapid nucleic acid detection. The core product line consists of TwistAmp® lyophilised (freeze-dried) kits and TwistAmp® Liquid bulk formats. The TwistAmp® Basic kit provides foundational DNA amplification, while TwistAmp® exo adds real-time fluorescent probe detection. TwistAmp® NFO Kit enables lateral flow endpoint detection. Supporting accessories include positive control templates and oligo mixes. Compatible third-party lateral flow products (Milenia HybriDetect and PCRD) extend end-point detection capabilities. All products are designed for field, point-of-care, and resource-limited testing environments, generating results in 3-10 minutes without requiring thermal cyclers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TwistAmp®: Lyophilised (freeze-dried) and liquid RPA kits for DNA/RNA amplification including Basic, exo, NFO, and Liquid variants.
• TwistGlow®
• TwistFlow®
• Twista®
• Twirla®

Products and services

• TwistAmp® Basic DNA amplification kit containing all enzymes and reagents necessary for DNA amplification; users supply only primers and template. Designed for end-point gel electrophoresis DNA detection and downstream applications such as sub-cloning.
• TwistAmp® exo Real-time fluorescent DNA amplification kit combining RPA amplification technology with a proprietary fluorescent TwistAmp exo probe in a homogeneous format. Users supply primers, probe, and template.
• TwistAmp® NFO Kit DNA amplification kit designed for lateral flow (end point) detection. Enables users to detect DNA amplification success via end-point sandwich-assays such as lateral flow strips, for developing low-cost lateral flow assays for field work.
• TwistAmp® Liquid Basic DNA amplification in a flexible liquid format containing all enzymes and reagents necessary for DNA amplification. Allows users to supply their own primers, dNTPs and template, facilitating use of different RPA reaction volumes or variation of component ratios.
• TwistAmp® Liquid exo Real-time fluorescent DNA amplification in flexible liquid format. Combines RPA with TwistAmp exo Probes using Exonuclease III to generate a real-time readout during amplification; supports flexible reaction volumes and component ratio variations.
• TwistAmp® exo positive control template Ready-made assay containing 100µl (1000 copies per µl) DNA template for use with the TwistAmp exo positive control oligo mix. Used for application development or positive control testing with TwistAmp exo kits or TwistAmp nfo kit for fluorescence detection.
• TwistAmp® exo positive control oligo mix Ready-made assay containing primers plus FAM labelled exo probe for use with TwistAmp exo positive control DNA template. One tube provides enough oligonucleotide mix for eight 50 µl RPA reactions. Used for application development or positive control testing.
• Milenia HybriDetect 1 Lateral flow strips (pack of 100) designed to detect biotin and FITC/FAM labelled amplicons. Compatible with TwistAmp nfo kit for detecting amplification products.
• PCRD Nucleic Acid Detection Lateral flow strips (pack of 50) for simultaneous detection of two amplicons labelled with DIG/Biotin and/or FITC/Biotin with control line. Nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay (NALFIA) compatible with TwistAmp nfo kit.

Quantifiable outcome

• Results generated within 3-10 minutes
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Abbott (via Alere acquisition)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerTwistDx operates under Abbott's global point of care division. Products are marketed and sold through Abbott's point of care platform. All products carry Abbott/TwistDx branding and are distributed via Abbott's commercial infrastructure.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cepheid (Danaher): Cepheid's GeneXpert system is the dominant rapid PCR-based molecular diagnostics platform for decentralised and point-of-care settings. It is the most relevant competitive benchmark to RPA's value proposition of fast, equipment-light nucleic acid detection.
• bioMérieux (BioFire): BioFire FilmArray panels deliver sample-to-answer molecular diagnostics in clinical and field settings. Comparable to TwistDx in addressing rapid nucleic acid detection, but using PCR rather than isothermal chemistry.
• Abbott (ID NOW / Alere): Abbott is TwistDx's parent and also markets the ID NOW platform based on NEAR isothermal amplification. ID NOW is a direct competing isothermal technology in point-of-care molecular diagnostics, making Abbott both the owner and a key competitor of TwistDx.
• Hologic: Diversified diagnostics company with significant molecular diagnostics revenue (Panther, Aptima). Comparable as a major molecular diagnostics player whose decentralisation roadmap puts pressure on niche reagent platforms like RPA.
• QIAGEN: Global provider of sample-preparation and molecular testing reagents and instruments, including PCR and isothermal amplification products. Comparable as a broad-line molecular reagent supplier competing for the same laboratory and research-use budgets.

Direct peers

• OptiGene: UK-based developer of isothermal nucleic acid amplification technology (Genie instruments and LAMP-based reagents). Direct peer in isothermal amplification chemistry for field and point-of-use detection.
• New England Biolabs: Major supplier of molecular biology enzymes and reagents, including isothermal amplification products (e.g., NEBaseChanger, LAMP reagents). Comparable as a research-use reagent provider enabling nucleic acid amplification workflows.

Emerging players

• Atila BioSystems: Develops isothermal amplification (ATAMP) kits for nucleic acid detection, including clinical and research applications. Directly comparable to TwistAmp in offering lyophilised isothermal reagents for decentralised testing.
• Sherlock Biosciences: Pioneer in CRISPR-based molecular diagnostics (CRISPR-Dx). Adjacent technology competing for the same decentralised, equipment-light molecular detection use cases that RPA targets.
• Mammoth Biosciences: CRISPR-based diagnostics platform developer with a DETECTR product line. Competes in the rapid, portable molecular detection category where RPA also plays.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/twistdx
• Facebookfacebook.com/twistdiagnostics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/twistdx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TwistDx