HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 2006--While traveling in Africa, President Bill Clinton announced that the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) has signed an agreement with Guava Technologies, a California-based company, that can reduce the cost of CD4 testing by up to 50%. CD4 cells are white blood cells that are critical to a healthy human immune system. The HIV virus destroys these cells leaving people more susceptible to infection. CD4 tests are used to measure the number of functioning CD4 cells to help determine when antiretrovirals (ARVs) should be administered, when a patient’s regimen should change and when ARV therapy should be stopped. Under the agreement, Guava Technologies will offer its CD4 System at a discounted price to the members of CHAI’s Procurement Consortium, a coalition of 56 developing countries around the world including 27 countries across the African continent. The agreement follows Guava’s announcement in May 2006 that it has received approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its EZCD4 absolute count system.
