Industry News: Beckman Coulter Expands Innovative Solutions for the Monitoring of HIV and AIDS in Africa

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences has announced an expansion of its CARES (Cellular Accessible Retroviral Evaluation Systems) Initiative at the 2015 International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference, being held at the Vancouver Convention Center from July 19-22, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. CARES focuses on providing innovative solutions for the monitoring of HIV and AIDS treatment in Africa.

The CARES Initiative in Africa started in 2004 after Professor Debbie Glencross, a South African laboratory pathologist, found a different and less expensive way to measure a patient’s CD4 count.  A person’s CD4 cell count must be 500 cells or less to qualify for antiretroviral treatment through the country’s national program.

Beckman Coulter’s latest initiative expands on her work by addressing the increasing demand in Africa for CD4 monitoring. The company has developed a compact flow cytometry analyzer, the AQUIOS CL Flow Cytometer, which can be used nearer to the patient* to run the assay Prof Glencross developed, but still within a laboratory environment - with protocols for standardization and assay quality as required by the country’s National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). However, the high precision ‘LOAD & GO’ Aquios can be used in smaller laboratories and operated by minimally trained users**.  Previously, blood samples have had to travel for several days to reach the flow cytometry center.

Dr. Jeannine T. Holden, Beckman Coulter’s Director of Scientific Affairs explained:  “For the first time, a compact, laboratory instrument is available that offers high quality, fully automated CD4 counts. The rapid turnaround time and ease of use mean that doctors and patients can get results in well under an hour, and timely treatment decisions can be made.”