Beckman Coulter Inc has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with PointCare Technologies Inc, according to a release.

Under the terms of the agreement, Beckman Coulter has exclusive global sales and marketing responsibilities for the new PointCARE system, small enough for use at the point of care for monitoring drug therapy in HIV/AIDS patients. PointCare Technologies will retain the research and development role. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.

The new PointCARE monitoring system enables simple, affordable CD4 monitoring and is ideally suited for use in remote locations. The PointCARE system will be launched this month at the Global AIDS 2004 conference in Bangkok, Thailand. The system is expected to begin shipping as early as September of this year to Africa, the Caribbean and other developing markets where monitoring of treatments, now accessible through the global initiatives for HIV care and treatment programmes, is in high demand, the release says.

"This product complements our FlowCARE PLG CD4 flow cytometry system, which was recently released to the developing markets for high volume centralized testing of CD4. The addition of the PointCARE system has the potential to significantly grow Beckman Coulter's global market share in HIV treatment monitoring, by expanding the market for CD4 testing to people in remote areas where information is needed most to make treatment decisions," said Bonnie Anderson, vice president of Beckman Coulter's Translational Solutions Business Centre. "The affordability and portability of this product will help make HIV/AIDS treatment and monitoring a reality for the 40-plus million people globally who are suffering from the disease," he added.

The PointCARE monitoring system uses a patented method of identifying cells, such as CD4 cells, using gold-coated microparticles. "The use of gold allowed us to produce the first alternative to fluorescence in flow cytometry. The system is very compact, immediately ready for use and gives results on the scene," said Petra Krauledat, president and chief executive officer of PointCare Technologies, Inc.