Newswise — Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., a NY-based company that develops, manufactures, licenses and markets proprietary rapid diagnostic tests, is donating more than 4,500 rapid HIV test kits to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s 2009 Testing Millions Global Campaign, based in Los Angeles, to commemorate World AIDS Day 2009 on December 1st.
“It’s important to remember the need for routine testing so that AIDS patients can receive treatment,” said Lawrence A. Siebert, chairman and CEO of Chembio. “However, according to recent research, approximately one in five people who test positive for HIV fail to receive their results and post-test counseling. Some of these patients who are unaware that they are disease carriers inadvertently delay the beginning of treatment while placing others at risk of exposure.”
Siebert went on to note that rapid, point-of-care (POC) tests such as those his company is donating to the Foundation—single test cartridges, similar to pregnancy tests, that use a small sample of blood and deliver a visual result in approximately 20 minutes—may be a solution.
Founded in 1985, Chembio entered the POC testing field in the late 1990s and, in 2002, focused its business to participate in the emerging global need and opportunity for rapid HIV tests. In addition to Chembio’s two FDA-approved rapid tests for HIV, the company is developing the next generation of rapid STD tests using their patented Dual Path Platform technology. These include a new rapid oral fluid HV test, a unique combination screen and confirm point-of-care test for syphilis, and a rapid oral fluid hepatitis C test.
First conceived in 1987 and first celebrated the following year, World AIDS Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS epidemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Over one million Americans and 33 million individuals worldwide are estimated to be living with HIV.
In addition to being the largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the US, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is a global organization that provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 100,000 people in 22 countries. The Foundation is currently embarked on a mass testing initiative to identify and treat the 25 million people who do not know they are infected. In the US, the Foundation runs specialized healthcare centers in California and Florida, which provide patients with up-to-date and effective treatment and services tailored specifically to them by expert HIV/AIDS medical professionals.
About Chembio Diagnostics
Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. develops, manufactures, licenses and markets proprietary rapid diagnostic tests in the growing $5 billion point-of-care testing market. The company, which reported record revenues and profits this past quarter, driven by domestic sales of its lateral flow rapid HIV test, believes the animal TB product underscores the potential for a similar test for humans. Such a test would also expand Chembio’s pipeline of products for infectious disease in humans, which includes the current development of oral fluid HIV, hepatitis C (HCV) and syphilis rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests.
Chembio’s two FDA approved rapid HIV tests are marketed in the U.S. by Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. Chembio markets its HIV STAT-PAK line of rapid HIV tests internationally to government and donor-funded programs directly and through partnerships and distributors. Chembio has developed a patented point-of-care test platform technology, the Dual Path Platform (DPP) technology, which has significant advantages over lateral-flow technologies. This technology is providing Chembio with a significant pipeline of business opportunities for the development and manufacture of new products based on DPP. Headquartered in Medford, NY, with approximately 100 employees, Chembio is licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and is certified for the global market under the International Standards Organization (ISO) directive 13.485.
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