Press release -
Cavidi and Burnet Institute sign CD4 license agreement
Uppsala Sweden
Leading Swedish HIV diagnostic company Cavidi today announced the signing of a license agreement for a technology in the detection of CD4 T-cell levels. The CD4 test, developed by the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and a long time partner to Cavidi, can be added to Cavidi’s Viral Load test on the next generation automated bench top instrument.
This will be the first time both VL
and CD4 are offered on one system for use in District and Provincial hospital
labs. The system is designed for use in high disease burden countries where,
today, over 70% of the global HIV population do not have access to diagnostics
for monitoring progression of HIV infection.
This easy-to-use, automated
diagnostic platform is designed for use outside a clean room, with similar
performance in accuracy and precision to big and costly central lab equipment. Eliminating the need for sophisticated lab
infrastructure and highly trained personnel will allow these life saving tests
to be more accessible, resulting in better treatment outcomes and more care for
less cost.
Associate Professor David Anderson, Deputy Director of Burnet Institute and leader of the team that developed the test, added: "This partnership to provide a simple, laboratory-based solution for CD4 integrated with Cavidi's established viral load technology will greatly expand access to appropriate monitoring for HIV patients in resource-poor countries, and thus result in better clinical outcomes for these patients. This is directly in line with Burnet's mission to improve health in vulnerable populations worldwide, making Cavidi an ideal partner to commercialise this technology.”
John Reisky de Dubnic, CEO of Cavidi added: “This test, combined with our well
proven Viral Load test is a world first bundling of HIV tests on one bench top
instrument with load and walk away convenience. This system will work in most labs
regardless of infrastructure or personnel constraints. The combined tests will
improve treatment efficacy by knowing when to start HIV treatment and also
monitoring drug effectiveness. Outcomes in drug therapy will improve and help
to reduce transmission of the HIV virus, benefitting patients, clinicians, and
health care systems around the world.”
About Cavidi
Cavidi is Sweden’s leading supplier of companion diagnostics for HIV monitoring. Cavidi’s products enable efficient management of anti-HIV drugs (ARV therapy) so that people living with HIV can live a normal lifespan. Cavidi’s companion diagnostics reduce the cost of treatment and the spread of HIV. Cavidi is a Swedish biotech company with its head office in Uppsala and sales offices in South Africa, India and USA.
Information about Burnet Institute:
Burnet Institute is an Australian, not-for-profit, unaligned and independent organisation that links medical research with public health action, recognising that solutions to many of the major global health problems require comprehensive and innovative responses. These include novel discoveries, such as the development of new vaccines and diagnostic tests, and the better use of existing best-practice health interventions.
With an estimated 35 million people living with HIV and millions more affected by other infectious diseases, the Burnet Institute is playing its part in trying to improve the health of disadvantaged, poor or otherwise vulnerable communities.
The CD4 test has been developed to date with funding from The National Health and Medical Research Council, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the CD4 Initiative (funded by the Bill & Melinda [CS1] Gates Foundation), the Burnet Institute, the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology, the Operational Infrastructure Scheme of the Victorian State Government, and the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund.
[CS1]BMGF uses the ampersand rather than ‘and’ for full name.
Topics
- Medical research
Categories
- sweden
- resource-limited settings
- innovation
- hiv
- health care
- cavidi
- the burnet institute
- cd4
- viral load
For over two decades Cavidi has been dedicated to increasing access to HIV viral load monitoring for all HIV-positive patients. Our ExaVir™ Load test accomplishes this by bringing national reference lab quality to the nearpatient environment. Independent studies confirm that ExaVir Load is as accurate as gold standard RNA-based tests yet is capable of running in virtually any lab. In fact, ExaVir Load is proven to perform at the District Hospital level where the need is greatest.
To date, over 350,000 ExaVir Load tests have been run backed by governments and major global NGOs in more than 25 countries. But there is still much work to be done. Cavidi is committed to continued innovation in this area in support of our conviction that the time for HIV viral load testing is now
