Nov 12, 2007

On November 12th, bioLytical Laboratories celebrated Midnight Magic, and amazing evening with Sir Richard Branson, Elvis Costello, Chriss Angel, and Ms. Dita Von Tesse. Founded by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Unite is a charitable movement that works to drive grassroots change and make a real difference in the lives of people around the world who need it most. It focuses on three core areas - the environment, youth in need and stopping the spread of the "Big Three" preventable diseases: HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Proceeds from the Midnight Magic Gala went directly to Virgin Unite's Heaven's Angels' Campaign. This innovative program funds and supports a team of trained health care workers who ride motorcycles into remote and impoverished areas of Sub-Saharan Africa to deliver life-saving medical supplies to people in need of care. It's estimated that just $11,000 will buy a new motorcycle, employ a health worker, and cover their running costs for the first year. Due to the stability of INSTI at high temperatures, long shelf life, and no need for electricity or equipment, the INSTI assay offers the perfect solution for transporting HIV testing to the patient in remote settings and villages.

Matthew Clayton, the Executive Vice President of bioLytical, presented Sir Richard Branson with a contribution of 100,000 INSTI HIV tests for work that Virgin in conducting in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. These 100,000 tests will reach men, women and children who visit the Bhubezi Community Healthcare centre for medical attention and care. The partnership with Virgin Mobile in Canada thru the Test Your Commitment campaign http://www.testyourcommitment.com is now able to reach beyond our borders and help people across the world gain access to the INSTI test.

"We're delighted to have the support of bioLytical Laboratories in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said Andrew Black, CEO of Virgin Mobile. "We look forward to bringing on more Canadian partners over the next year, both as contributors and activists within our community, as we search for other local partners to help make a difference both globally and in Canada."