FULLERTON, Calif., March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beckman Coulter, Inc. has been awarded a grant to develop quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) materials that will be used to verify the accuracy of a planned point-of-care HIV/AIDS test for resource-poor countries. The grant was awarded by Imperial College London’s CD4 Initiative, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Sybil D’Costa, Ph.D., staff advanced research scientist for Beckman Coulter’s Custom Biopharma Solutions, is the principal investigator on the grant.
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Beckman Coulter, along with a group of other companies and organizations, will be working with the Imperial College to develop a simple CD4 enumeration test for diagnosing and monitoring HIV/AIDS in remote settings where electricity is unreliable, water quality is poor, and if there are healthcare technicians, they are poorly trained if at all. The proposed test will involve a finger prick and testing mechanism which would allow for the visual indication of results similar to pregnancy tests available in the United States, for instance. The new self-contained HIV/AIDS test must be very easy- to-use and more importantly it must be affordable.
“Monitoring of CD4 T cell counts in HIV infected individuals is an essential part of staging HIV infection and disease progression,” said Wade Bolton, Ph.D., vice president of Beckman Coulter’s Custom BioPharma Solutions and Services. “Our challenge with this project is to create the control products that will ensure that the planned HIV/AIDS tests being developed are accurate in the environmental conditions found in areas like sub-Saharan Africa. By providing a monitoring solution that can be realistically applied in resource-poor settings, we may have a chance at improving dramatically the face of the AIDS pandemic and prolonging the life of those infected. It is an honor to have received this grant and to be given the chance to share what we have with those who need it most.”
Beckman Coulter, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of biomedical testing instrument systems, tests and supplies that simplify and automate laboratory processes. Beckman Coulter’s 200,000 installed systems provide essential biomedical information to improve patient health and reduce the cost of care around the world. The company, based in Fullerton, California, reported 2006 annual sales of $2.534 billion with 75 percent of this amount generated by recurring revenue from supplies, test kits, services and operating-type lease payments. For more information, visit www.beckmancoulter.com.
Contact: Mary Luthy Robert Raynor, Ph.D. Dr. Steven Reid Corp. Communications Investor Relations Imperial College Beckman Coulter, Inc. Beckman Coulter, Inc. (44) 207 594 2062 (714) 993-8770 (714) 773-7620 mluthy@beckman.comrraynor@beckmancoulter.com
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031202/BECLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.orgPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comBeckman Coulter, Inc.
CONTACT: Mary Luthy, Corp. Communications, +1-714-993-8770,mluthy@beckman.com, or Robert Raynor, Ph.D., Investor Relations,+1-714-773-7620, rraynor@beckmancoulter.com, both of Beckman Coulter, Inc.;or Dr. Steven Reid of Imperial College, +(44) 207 594 2062
Web site: http://www.beckmancoulter.com/
