FULLERTON, Calif., July 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beckman Coulter, Inc. today announced it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with PointCare Technologies, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Beckman Coulter has exclusive global sales and marketing responsibilities for the new PointCARE(TM) system, small enough for use at the point of care for monitoring drug therapy in HIV/AIDS patients. PointCare Technologies will retain the research and development role. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.
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The new PointCARE monitoring system enables simple, affordable CD4 monitoring and is ideally suited for use in remote locations. The PointCARE system will be launched this month at the Global AIDS 2004 conference in Bangkok, Thailand. The system is expected to begin shipping as early as September of this year to Africa, the Caribbean and other developing markets where monitoring of treatments, now accessible through the global initiatives for HIV care and treatment programs, is in high demand.
“This product complements our FlowCARE PLG CD4 flow cytometry system, which was recently released to the developing markets for high volume centralized testing of CD4. The addition of the PointCARE system has the potential to significantly grow Beckman Coulter’s global market share in HIV treatment monitoring, by expanding the market for CD4 testing to people in remote areas where information is needed most to make treatment decisions,” said Bonnie Anderson, vice president of Beckman Coulter’s Translational Solutions Business Center. “The affordability and portability of this product will help make HIV/AIDS treatment and monitoring a reality for the 40-plus million people globally who are suffering from the disease.”
The PointCARE monitoring system uses a novel, patented method of identifying cells, such as CD4 cells, using gold-coated microparticles. “The use of gold allowed us to produce the first alternative to fluorescence in flow cytometry. The system is very compact, immediately ready for use and gives results on the scene,” said Petra Krauledat, president and chief executive officer of PointCare Technologies, Inc.
PointCare Technologies, Inc. of Ashland, Mass., is dedicated to developing and providing high-quality medical test results in decentralized patient care settings at reduced cost. Its flagship product, the PointCARE system, is the first commercially available alternative to the large flow cytometry systems of central laboratories for monitoring HIV/AIDS drug therapy. PointCARE is portable, automated and gives results on the scene. For further information visit http://www.pointcaretechnologies.com/.
Beckman Coulter, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of biomedical testing instrument systems, tests and supplies that simplify and automate laboratory processes. Spanning the biomedical testing continuum -- from discovery research and clinical research to laboratory diagnostics and point-of-care testing -- Beckman Coulter’s 200,000 installed systems provide essential biomedical information to enhance health care around the world. The company, based in Fullerton, Calif., reported 2003 annual sales of $2.2 billion with 64 percent of this amount generated by recurring revenue from supplies, test kits and services. For more information, visit http://www.beckmancoulter.com/.
For further information please contact Media Relations, Anne M. Warde, +1-714-773-7655, or Investor Relations, Jeanie Herbert, +1-714-773-7620, both of Beckman Coulter; or Michael Bezdek of PointCare Technologies, +1-781-792-2700.
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031202/BECLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comBeckman Coulter, Inc.
CONTACT: Media Relations, Anne M. Warde, +1-714-773-7655, or InvestorRelations, Jeanie Herbert, +1-714-773-7620, both of Beckman Coulter; orMichael Bezdek of PointCare Technologies, +1-781-792-2700
Web site: http://www.pointcaretechnologies.com/
Web site: http://www.beckmancoulter.com/
