Alere and FIND extend partnership to support development of rapid test for simultaneous detection of malaria and sleeping sickness

Suwon, Republic of Korea & Geneva, Switzerland – March 18, 2015 – Standard Diagnostics (SD)/Alere, a global leader in rapid diagnostics, and FIND, a global non-profit dedicated to supporting the development and delivery of diagnostics for diseases of poverty, today announced an extension of their collaboration to include development of an innovative rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for both malaria and human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, or sleeping sickness). These two diseases overlap in 36 sub-Saharan African countries, where they are a severe burden on the socio-economic development of the most impoverished communities that live there.

FIND also collaborated with SD/Alere to support the recent development of the first RDT for Trypanosoma brucei gambienseHAT (Alere SD BIOLINE HAT), which has already been introduced in many endemic countries and is expected to significantly accelerate the elimination of the disease. An RDT that simultaneously tests for malaria and HAT (“a dual test”) will become increasingly important as the number of reported HAT cases declines and fewer patients are suspected and therefore tested for the disease. Since all regions where HAT is found are also highly endemic for malaria, a dual test would be much more likely to be used widely and sustainably than a HAT-only RDT, even when the prevalence of HAT is close to zero.

“FIND’s role in supporting SD/Alere’s development of a dual test will include the collection of clinical samples and leading clinical trials,” explained Dr. Catharina Boehme, Chief Executive Officer of FIND. “We are pleased to support the development and evaluation of this combo test. If it proves effective, it will facilitate detection of residual HAT infections at an early stage, thus eliminating their status as reservoirs, and enhancing the prospects of achieving and sustaining elimination of the disease.”

“This important work will be an extension of the successful partnership that has been established with FIND to support the development and evaluation of tests for HAT, leishmaniasis, Buruli ulcer, tuberculosis and malaria, and reaffirms SD/Alere’s commitment to the fight against neglected tropical diseases. We are convinced that development of the malaria/HAT combo test will be another key milestone towards elimination of HAT”, said Dr. Byung-Ki Cho, Vice President Asia Pacific Operations and R&D of SD/Alere.

Development, evaluation and introduction of the malaria/HAT combo test in endemic countries are being supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with the goal of entering into clinical trials in the second half of 2015.

About FIND
Founded in 2003, FIND is an international non-profit organization that enables the development and delivery of diagnostic tests for diseases of poverty, including tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, sleeping sickness, hepatitis C, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease and Buruli ulcer. Over the last decade, FIND has partnered in the delivery of 11 new diagnostic tools and created an enabling environment for countless more through specimen banks, reagent development and better market visibility. FIND has also supported the scale-up of diagnostics through implementation, quality assurance and lab strengthening work. FIND has over 100 partners, including research institutes and laboratories, ministries of health, commercial partners, bilateral and multilateral organizations, especially WHO, and clinical trial sites.

About Standard Diagnostics/Alere Inc.
Standard Diagnostics (SD), an Alere company, is based in Korea and focuses on rapid diagnostics.

Alere Inc. delivers reliable and actionable information through rapid diagnostic tests, resulting in better clinical and economic healthcare outcomes globally. Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Alere focuses on rapid diagnostics for infectious disease, cardiometabolic disease and toxicology. For more information on Alere, please visit www.alere.com.

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For more information, please contact:
Sylvain Biéler, Senior Scientific Officer, FIND
+41 22 710 27 81
Sylvain.Bieler@finddx.org

Jackie Lustig, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, SD/Alere
+1 (781) 314-4009
Jackie.lustig@alere.com