Bristol-Myers Squibb Funds New Diagnostic Tool to Monitor HIV Disease Progression in Africa

The cost of HIV/AIDS monitoring has long been a barrier to successful treatment in Africa. Now, research funded by SECURE THE FUTURE^®, an HIV/AIDS philanthropic initiative funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, has significantly lowered this barrier.

The research has brought the cost of the test used to monitor both disease progression and treatment success down by as much as 70 to 80 percent. Following is the full text of the Bristol-Myers Squibb announcement:

Recently, the South African National Health Laboratory Service licensed the technology to a company to provide a low-cost CD4 test to monitor immune system function and progression of disease in patients with HIV/AIDS. 

The landmark research that led to the new low-cost technology was developed by AIDS researcher Deborah Glencross, M.D., through a grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s SECURE THE FUTURE.   Taking the fruits of innovative research from the laboratory to clinical application illustrates the impact SECURE THE FUTURE is having as a change agent and a model for public/private partnerships.

“The HIV/AIDS pandemic is devastating entire nations.  The solution does not lie in any single program but in successful partnerships between the public and private sector,” said Peter R. Dolan, chairman and CEO, Bristol-Myers Squibb.  “The coming together of industry with leading research scientists and government agencies, all in support of a common goal, has produced a very important diagnostic advance that has the potential to save lives and significantly enhance the treatment landscape for the people of Africa.”

The international standard method for monitoring the progress of HIV/AIDS involves counting the total number of an infected person’s CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell whose decreasing number reflects the progress of the disease, a process that has been expensive and burdensome. 

Dr. Glencross, a hematologist with the National Health Laboratory Services in South Africa, was awarded a $9,000 SECURE THE FUTURE grant in 2000. The grant helped fund her research to discover a simpler and considerably cheaper method of counting CD4 cells in HIV-infected patients called the “PanLeucogating test,” commonly known as the “PLG CD4 test.”

 “The new approach to CD4 testing created by Dr. Glencross is a major advance and could provide a cost savings of 70 to 80 percent over traditional HIV testing methods,” said John McGoldrick, executive vice president, Bristol-Myers Squibb, who provides oversight to the SECURE THE FUTURE program.  “Because CD4 cell counts help physicians and patients monitor HIV/AIDS disease progression and immune system health, the impact of an easier, more cost effective system is expected to be considerable.”

Dr. Glencross worked with partners at the National Health Laboratory Services and in the United Kingdom to develop the PLG CD4 test. The new test has several benefits:  it reduces the number of steps involved from three to one; the samples can be analyzed up to five days after collection of blood, increasing accessibility to testing; it is as accurate as the more expensive tests, and it is easy and quick to perform.

Beckman Coulter, Inc., a manufacturer of biomedical testing systems and supplies, was recently awarded the first tender in South Africa for the CD4 test created by Dr. Glencross and the NHLS.  The NHLS exclusively licensed the technology to Beckman Coulter, which in turn commercialized it.

SECURE THE FUTURE is a multi-year initiative created by Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to support projects that help people in Africa affected by and infected with HIV/AIDS. To date, the initiative has provided grants totaling almost $100 million to more than 160 programs in nine countries in southern and western Africa. The goal is to develop sustainable models in resource-limited settings for community outreach and education, as well as medical research and care.

The program’s focus has been to address the region’s most significant needs including local training and support for community-based initiatives, building internal resources and infrastructure and implementing modern science within a local context.  The most recent SECURE THE FUTURE grants funded six new programs at community and medical centers in southern Africa.

04/26/04