Inverness Medical Innovations Participates in Meeting on HIV/AIDS with UN Secreta...( WALTHAM Mass. Oct. 10 /- Invernes...),Health

WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (Amex: IMA), a leading provider of near-patient diagnostics, monitoring and health management solutions, met yesterday with Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as part of a group of senior executives of seventeen of the world's leading research-based and generic pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies. Inverness, together with senior officials from the United Nations system and representatives from the other firms, reviewed progress of programs to expand access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services in low and middle-income countries.

In connection with the meeting, Inverness provided information on its previously announced 4th generation rapid HIV diagnostic test, the Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo and disclosed publicly for the first time details on its unique Point-of-Care Analyzer upon which a first of its kind CD4 cell enumeration test will be deployed.

For individuals who have been confirmed as being HIV positive, testing for CD4, or T helper cells, is a critical baseline measurement to gauge the state of their immune system and for clinicians to initiate antiretroviral (ART) HIV therapy. It indicates how far the disease has advanced and the risk to the patient of complications or debilitating infections. CD4 is also measured at regular intervals during course of HIV therapy.

The Inverness CD4 system has been designed for use in point of care settings in the developing world, as well as in hospitals and in physician's offices in the developed world and potentially in the home as part of an enhanced health management program. It is a simple to operate, portable system with a rechargeable batt
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