The cost of HIV/AIDS monitoring has long been a barrier to successful treatment in Africa. Now, research funded by ‘Secure The Future’, an HIV/AIDS philanthropic initiative funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, has significantly lowered this barrier. The research has brought the cost of the test used to monitor both disease progression and treatment success down by as much as 70 to 80 per cent.

Recently, the South African National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) licensed the technology to a company to provide a low-cost CD4 test to monitor immune system function and progression of disease in patients with HIV/AIDS. The landmark research that led to the new low-cost technology was developed by AIDS researcher Deborah Glencross, M.D., through a grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s `Secure The Future’. Taking the fruits of innovative research from the laboratory to clinical application illustrates the impact ‘Secure The Future’ is having as a change agent and a model for public/private partnerships.

"The HIV/AIDS pandemic is devastating entire nations. The solution does not lie in any single program but in successful partnerships between the public and private sector," said Peter R. Dolan, chairman and chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "The coming together of industry with leading research scientists and government agencies, all in support of a common goal, has produced a very important diagnostic advance that has the potential to save lives and significantly enhance the treatment landscape for the people of Africa."

The international standard method for monitoring the progress of HIV/AIDS involves counting the total number of an infected person’s CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell whose decreasing number reflects the progress of the disease, a process that has been expensive and burdensome. Dr. Glencross, a hematologist with the NHLS in South Africa, was awarded a $9,000 `Secure The Future’grant in 2000. The grant helped fund her research to discover a simpler and considerably cheaper method of counting CD4 cells in HIV-infected patients called the "PanLeucogating test," commonly known as the "PLG CD4 test."

"The new approach to CD4 testing created by Dr. Glencross is a major advance and could provide a cost savings of 70 to 80 per cent over traditional HIV testing methods," said John McGoldrick, executive vice president, Bristol-Myers Squibb, who provides oversight to the `Secure The Future’ program. "Because CD4 cell counts help physicians and patients monitor HIV/AIDS disease progression and immune system health, the impact of an easier, more cost effective system is expected to be considerable."