MedMira Inc, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, has received payment for an initial $100,000 order of its Multiplo rapid tests, which will be used in a collaborative mobile health initiative in Uzbekistan.
The innovative mobile clinics are mini-hospitals on wheels that can travel to the most remote areas of a country, providing cutting-edge medical services that would otherwise be unavailable. The clinics in use in Uzbekistan have been donated by the government of the Russian Federation, in line with the global health priorities of UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Hermes Chan, MedMira
MedMira’s unique, portable, and easy-to-use Multiplo rapid tests will enable Uzbekistan’s Republican AIDS Center—the organization operating the mobile clinics—to provide highly accurate, on-the-spot screening and prevention initiatives for HIV, syphilis (TP), and hepatitis B (HBc) and C (HCV).
“Working with UNAIDS and other collaborators on this important program in Uzbekistan is garnering international recognition for our Multiplo products,” says Hermes Chan, cofounder and CEO of MedMira. “We fully support the work of UNAIDS and related organizations—including WHO, UNICEF, and the World Bank—and look forward to being a part of their screening and prevention programs in Central Asian countries.”
UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 United Nations organizations—ILO, UN Women, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNODC, WFP, WHO, and the World Bank—and works in conjunction with the Republican AIDS Center, part of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, to facilitate innovative screening programs that localize global health strategies and initiatives.
MedMira’s Multiplo rapid tests, which deliver multiple, instant results, will enable the center to instantaneously double or triple its mobile clinic testing and prevention efforts. “MedMira’s rapid tests, built on our innovative rapid vertical flow (RVF) technology platform, have a role to play in screening programs, regardless of whether the testing is performed in a state-of-the-art hospital lab or the back of a mobile clinic vehicle in the field,” says Chan. “No other technology can match the speed, ease of use, and the versatility of Multiplo tests.”
“Equipped with Multiplo tests, the mobile clinics in Uzbekistan can increase screening efforts to prevent the spread of not just a single disease, but now HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B and C at the same time,” says Chan. “As healthcare providers, aid organizations, and public health agencies around the world implement our unique products, they immediately realize the value and benefits that are brought to their programs.”
The speed of the tests leads to fewer patients lost to follow-up, and being able to provide immediate counseling and treatment, says Chan. Meanwhile, the ability to deliver multiple results on a single test helps to maximize resource utilization and reduce costs.
Multiplo TP/HIV and HBc/HIV/HCV tests are already being used in testing programs in several Latin America countries, as well as in programs in India. The Multiplo TP/HIV test is in the final technical evaluation phase of the WHO prequalification of diagnostics program. And meanwhile, MedMira is conducting a multicenter clinical trial to support FDA approval of the Multiplo HBc/HIV/HCV test for the US market, where it will be used by customers in military, public health, tissue banking, and mainstream healthcare sectors.
MedMira is a leading developer and manufacturer of rapid vertical flow (RVF) diagnostics. The company’s tests provide hospitals, labs, clinics, and individuals with instant diagnosis for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C. For more information, visit MedMira.
