Calypte Appoints Gestlab as Distributor in Mozambique
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Calypte Biomedical Corporation (Amex: HIV) today announced that it has appointed Gestlab Lda as its exclusive distributor in Mozambique.
In collaboration with Gestlab, Calypte expects to begin the regulatory evaluation process for its Aware(TM) rapid tests in October. The three rapid HIV tests, Aware HIV-1/2 BSP (blood), Aware HIV-1/2 OMT (oral fluid), and Aware HIV-1/2 U (urine), will be evaluated in these studies. In conjunction with this collaboration, Gestlab has begun commercializing other Calypte assays, including the BED Incidence EIA test.
Dr. Richard George, President and CEO of Calypte stated, "In short order, Gestlab has shown itself to be a very eager and focused distributor. They are facilitating the regulatory process for our Aware(TM) tests as aggressively as possible, and in the interim, are already ordering those Calypte products that can be marketed without prior registration. The HIV situation in Mozambique is acute, and Gestlab already plays an active role in helping its country control the disease. Calypte believes that some or all of its assays will be able to play a dominant role in the nation's response to the epidemic."
Rui Gomes da Costa, President of Gestlab, added, "We believe that affordably-priced non-invasive tests such as the Aware(TM) HIV-1/2 oral fluid and urine tests will permit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to carry out their research programs in a more user friendly way. This type of innovation will always position us as leaders, through tapping into our strengths and enabling the projects to run smoothly. Mozambique has an official prevalence of 14% with around 500 new infections every day."
Mozambique, with a population of just under 20 million, has an estimated 1.3 million HIV infections, according to the UNAIDS 2004 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic.
About Gestlab Lda:
Gestlab Lda is a Mozambican company, based in Maputo. It is the exclusive representative for Roche Diagnostics in Mozambique and represents, on a nonexclusive basis, such organizations as Becton Dickinson and AEC-Amersham. Gestlab covers all areas of diagnostic aid in the country and is specifically involved in various HIV programs, such as prevalence, incidence and resistance testing and monitoring Anti-Retroviral Therapy through viral loads and detection through vertical transmission. Gestlab is one of eight companies who have been awarded the Pre-Qualification tender to supply the Mozambican Ministry of Health until 2007 on all non-drug tenders.
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