press releases
May 30, 2007
Vancouver, BC, Canada May 30, 2007: In partnership with community and Delhi State Aids Control Society (DSACS), bioLytical Laboratories (bioLytical) organized a two-day campaign raising awareness of HIV/AIDS in India and testing more than 500 people. Five (5) preliminary HIV positive cases were detected.
On the first day of the campaign, Mr. Rick Galli, Chief Science Officer of bioLytical led training sessions for over 350 government officials teaching the proper use of bioLytcial’s INSTI HIV-1/HIV-2* Rapid Antibody Test. INSTI is a highly effective and reliable rapid HIV test that detects the presence of antibodies to HIV in whole blood, serum or plasma in 60 seconds. It has a 99.96% accuracy rate and is the only HIV kit approved by Health Canada for point-of-care (POC) testing.
Counsellors, lab technicians, and officials from DSACS, local hospitals, blood banks were instructed on how to administer the 60-second HIV test and more than 250 people were tested using INSTI at G.B. Pant Hospital Auditorium, New Delhi.
On the second day of the campaign, bioLytical donated 1000 INSTI HIV diagnosis tests to its community partner DSACS and St. John’s Ambulance Brigade MITWA (Mobile Integrated Testing and Wellness Access). A specially designed bus brought the INSTI test to high risk areas (like Jailer Bagh, Azadpur and Mori Gate Terminal) and made rapid HIV testing available, for the first time, to sex workers, migrant workers, truck drivers, rickshaw pullers and students. It was confirmed that 5 preliminary HIV Positive cases were detected and have been sent to DSACS for confirmatory testing.
Mr. Bhavjit Jauhar, Head of Business Development for bioLytical said, “This is the first time in India that health care workers have been trained to use a point-of-care HIV kit. Never before has it been possible to conduct HIV testing in the field. It is also the first time in India that the kit will be used to diagnose individuals in high-risk populations in their own neighbourhoods. This is now possible only because of INSTI’s unique properties that make it ideally suited to India’s extreme testing conditions.”
“INSTI will revolutionize HIV testing,” says Dr. Neena Gupta, Joint Director (Blood Safety). “It often takes 1-2 days to learn the results of a preliminary HIV screening test. That’s too long for my patients. It’s impossible to find a migrant worker if they don’t come back for their results.”
Mr. Jauhar continued, “Delhi has a population of over 14 million, and 1 million people are considered to be at high risk for HIV infection. By partnering with community-based organizations like DSACS, we believe we can get the tests to those who need it most. Those who are most at risk for AIDS are often the same people who cannot access testing facilities. Insuring timely detection of HIV infection will help curb the spread of the disease.”
Mr. Birendra Soni, Assistant Director, Voluntary Counselling Testing (VCT) DSACS witnessed the stigma and misinformation about HIV testing firsthand while travelling across 18 states in India during his project Mission Highway. “Most sexually active young people have no idea where to go for the tests. This hinders proper detection and management of HIV/AIDS, and fails to remove the stigma associated with it,” commented Mr. Soni.
Pictures of the training day are available upon request.
ABOUT INSTI HIV-1/HIV-2* RAPID ANTIBODY TEST
INSTI is a highly effective and reliable rapid HIV test that detects the presence of antibodies to HIV in whole blood, serum or plasma in 60 seconds. It has a 99.96% accuracy rate, as demonstrated in extensive clinical trials carried out in multiple centers across Canada. To further ensure INSTI maintains its high quality, it is manufactured in Canada under strict controls in a state-of-the-art ISO accredited facility. INSTI is the only HIV kit approved by Health Canada for point-of-care testing.
ABOUT bioLytical LABORATORIES
bioLytical Laboratories (Inc.) is a leading developer and manufacturer of diagnostic tests for global health care markets. The company produces the highly accurate and reliable INSTI kit; the only rapid HIV test kit approved by Health Canada for use in a point-of- care setting, such as a doctor's office or hospital. bioLytical is a privately owned company with headquarters and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located in Richmond, British Columbia, with offices in United Kingdom and Uganda, Africa. For more information about bioLytical and INSTI, please visit www.biolytical.com.
ABOUT DELHI STATE AIDS CONTROL SOCIETY (DSACS)
The Delhi State AIDS Control Society is an autonomous body of the Delhi Government. It is a nodal agency that is responsible for implementing the National AIDS Control Programme funded by the Government of India. The main objective of the society is to prevent and control HIV transmission and to strengthen state capacity to respond to the long-term challenge posed by the epidemic. The society is implementing various components through various departments and institutes in both Government and Non-Government.
This news release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, an advertisement, solicitation or offering of securities of bioLyticalTM Laboratories. The statements made in this news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations.
Media Contact:
Amanda Smith, BSc.
Smith Biotech
Phone: (778) 846-4116
amanda@smithbiotech.com
