bioLytical Announces Provision Of INSTI, 60-Second Rapid HIV Test, To Ontario Government

Vancouver, BC - bioLytical Laboratories (bioLytical) announced today that it has signed an agreement with Ontario to supply rapid HIV tests for the province's anonymous and sexual health clinics. INSTI is the only Health Canada approved rapid HIV test for point-of-care testing. The INSTI kit will be available free of charge to all Ontario residents through the AIDS Bureau within the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

This agreement follows Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman's announcement in June that Ontario would be launching the first HIV testing program in Canada. Fifty Anonymous Testing sites, along with additional point of care localities, will offer the INSTI kit throughout the province beginning this fall, including 24 new sites located in northern and rural Ontario. In addition to supplying INSTI kits to all Ontario anonymous and sexual health clinics, bioLytical will collaborate with the Minister in the development of education and promotional material to increase public awareness on HIV testing.

"We applaud the progressive HIV awareness and testing program the Ontario government has put in place," comments Carl Roy, CEO, bioLytical. "Making the INSTI kit available free of charge through the AIDS Bureau makes Ontario the first jurisdiction in North America to get serious about increasing HIV testing and AIDS prevention." bioLytical and the Ministry of Health through the AIDS Bureau are collaborating on a multiple site training program beginning in September.

Ontario is the largest province in the country with a population just over 12 million. Between 1985-2005, Ontario had the highest number of positive HIV test reports in Canada with a total of 26,706. Approximately 4,000 Canadians are infected with HIV each year. Research indicates that 15,000 Canadians are currently living with HIV and are unaware they are infected.

This is the first of many provincial partnerships bioLytical intends to secure in order to solidify their foothold in the rapid HIV test market. Every province in Canada has expressed their commitment to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Roy is confident there will be universal availability of the INSTI test to ensure that people at risk of contracting or spreading the virus are identified and treated in an equitable manner wherever they live. bioLytical has also recently initiated FDA clinical trials for US approval of the test.

SOURCE: bioLytical Laboratories