Zyomyx receives funding from UNITAID to launch rapid, service-free point-of-care CD4 test
California-based Zyomyx, Inc., has been awarded $7.5 million from UNITAID, the international drug purchasing facility hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), to commercialize its quantitative MyT4 point-of-care CD4 test, designed to guide HIV/AIDS treatment initiation and monitoring in low- and middle-income countries. UNITAID's funding contribution is part of its strategy to speed up access to a range of new and improved technologies from a number of manufacturers for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria for the world's most vulnerable populations. It will support field evaluations of the product, training for national HIV programs, and country-level and global regulatory filings. The Zyomyx test delivers results that are equivalent to lab-based flow cytometry, The MyT4 CD4 test received a CE Mark in December 2013.
CD4 count is the critical marker to determine when patients need to start antiretroviral therapy and to monitor the immune status of HIV-positive patients. The quantitative MyT4 CD4 test provides a result in 10 minutes from a finger-prick sample. The product does not require any maintenance or swap to a central location for repairs because there is no complex instrumentation. As a result, the cost to adopt the test is minimal compared to instrument-based platforms.
The MyT4 CD4 test supports countries' efforts to decentralize HIV treatment, expanding access to healthcare for remote populations and relieving the burden at centralized facilities. According to WHO, there are 9.7 million people in developing countries on antiretroviral therapy today, but another 16 million people are unable to access needed treatment. Point-of-care diagnostic testing is a critical tool to determine treatment eligibility and link greater numbers of HIV-positive people to treatment. Learn more about the important work of UNITAID.
