CD4 - UNITAID Grant Funding

RNS Number : 6845A

Omega Diagnostics Group PLC

24 February 2014

 



Omega Diagnostics Group PLC

("Omega" or the "Company")

CD4 - UNITAID Grant Funding

Omega (AIM: ODX), the medical diagnostics company focused on allergy, food intolerance and infectious disease, announces that, in conjunction with UNITAID and the Burnet Institute, Melbourne, it is to receive US $600,000 of grant funding to support initial inventory build and to establish an assembly facility in India for its Visitect® CD4 test.

On 31 January 2014, the Burnet Institute announced that it has been awarded a UNITAID grant for US $1.6 million to initiate field evaluations in India and South Africa (reproduced below). Omega is a collaborating partner in this initiative and is the means by which the Burnet Institute will be able to deliver on its project manufacturing goal. Accordingly, the Burnet Institute has agreed to provide Omega with grant funding of US $600,000 to accelerate delivery of this goal.  This grant funding, along with existing cash reserves, means Omega is very well funded to deliver on its aims.

As demand for Visitect® CD4 is expected to be substantial, it is important that the Company continues to expand manufacturing capacity to meet anticipated demand. Having a second facility will also provide reassurance over future supply.

Commenting on the grant funding, Andrew Shepherd, CEO of Omega said: "We are pleased to expand our collaboration with the Burnet Institute to provide additional manufacturing capacity via the UNITAID funding.  This will help to ensure we can meet the expected high volume demand in the near to medium term."

Contacts:

Omega Diagnostics Group PLC	Tel: [phone]
Andrew Shepherd, Chief Executive	www.omegadiagnostics.com
Kieron Harbinson, Group Finance Director
Jag Grewal, Group Sales and Marketing Director
finnCap Ltd	Tel: [phone]
Geoff Nash/Christopher Raggett (Corporate Finance)
Stephen Norcross/Mia Gardner (Corporate Broking)
Walbrook PR Limited	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Lianne Cawthorne	Mob: [phone]
Paul McManus	Mob: [phone]

 Media Release - 31 January 2014

The Burnet Institute

Burnet receives million-dollar grant to rollout revolutionary HIV test

Burnet Institute has received US$1.6 million from UNITAID to kick start field evaluation studies in India and South Africa of VISITECT® CD4 (a point-of-care test which determines when an HIV-positive patient should start lifesaving treatment).

This grant is part of US$20 million of funding for developers of easy-to-use HIV diagnostics designed for low-income countries.

VISITECT® CD4 uses a small amount of blood from a finger-prick with results available after 40 minutes at a cost of approximately $5, significantly less than the existing tests.

Burnet Institute Associate Director and VISITECT® CD4 co-developer, Professor Suzanne Crowe AM said the test will make a significant impact on those people living with HIV in India.

"There are about 2.1 million people living with HIV in India and while patients attending many urban centres in India have excellent care, those living in rural areas lack access to affordable HIV monitoring tests," Professor Crowe said.

"The low-cost, point-of-care VISITECT® CD4 will greatly improve access to life-saving anti-HIV drugs for potentially hundreds of thousands of HIV-positive people in India."

Professor Crowe will announce the details of the project at the International Science Symposium on HIV and Infectious Diseases in Chennai, India.

"The first training of health care workers in how to use VISITECT® CD4 will take place in Chennai this week and field trials for the above Indian and South African studies will commence by July this year," she said.

UNITAID Executive Director, Dr Denis Broun said the organisation has already invested US$140 million in portable and easy-to-use HIV diagnostic technology.

"Our efforts to provide better quality of care at the community level - for affordable prices - are critical. It is essential that other donors target their investments in a similar way," Dr Broun said.

This project is in collaboration with Omega Diagnostics Group PLC, UK, Y.R.G Care, India, The University of Witwatersrand, South Africa and The Kirby Institute, NSW, Australia.

VISITECT® CD4 was developed through the support of the Victorian Government, CD4 Initiative, Axxin, ACH2, National Health and Medical Research Council and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

 

END

 

 

MSCFMGZZVMDGDZM