Province of British Columbia: Province Helps Develop Single Test To Fight 3 Epidemics

Provincial funding is helping researchers develop the world's first combined test for HIV, syphilis and herpes, which will be inexpensive, quick to administer and easy to interpret, Iain Black, Minister of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development, announced today.

'Our investment will support advancements by bioLytical Laboratories, a leading B.C. biotech firm that is working with partners in Ontario and India, to break new ground with a low-cost test that has the potential to save lives and prevent suffering,' Black said.

'By fostering research and development collaborations between India and B.C., we are combining our strengths to help fight three epidemics that continue to take their toll in India, Canada and everywhere else.'

Having syphilis or genital herpes multiplies the risk of contracting HIV by creating microscopic lesions through which HIV can enter the bloodstream. HIV-AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, with an estimated 33 million people infected today, including 2.4 million in India. Worldwide, there are an estimated 12 million cases of syphilis. Eighty-six million people are believed to have genital herpes.

BioLytical Laboratories, based in Richmond, has already developed an HIV test kit that can be used in doctors' offices and clinics, with no need to send samples to a lab. This has helped revolutionize voluntary testing and counselling, making such tests accessible throughout the world, including in areas with few resources.

'In many countries, including India, there are significant intersecting epidemics of syphilis, genital herpes and HIV,' said Michael O'Shaughnessey, chief science officer of bioLytical. 'A rapid point-of-care combination test would reduce the time required to get a result from days to minutes and allow treatment to be mobilized earlier. Early effective treatment helps to prevent transmission of all of these pathogens.'

The $1.39-million project, including $220,000 from B.C. and $200,000 in materials and labour from bioLytical Labs, is supported by a $3-million program announced by Premier Gordon Campbell last year to which B.C., India and International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada each committed $1 million. The investments are funding R&D projects with commercial potential in the life sciences and environmental technologies, as well as student internships.

'ISTPCanada is in the business of partnerships ' bi-lateral R&D partnerships, in this instance, between Canadian and Indian companies, but also as a modus operandi to multiply our impact and our partners' impact, as we have accomplished through our partnership with the B.C. Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development,' said Dr. Henri Rothschild, president and CEO of ISTPCanada. 'Our experience has shown that a unified effort at the federal and provincial levels creates a lens that magnifies the international reach of Canadian innovation.'

In India, the project involves Kentropy Technologies, which will develop software to collect and analyze test results and information about the behaviours of those who are infected. The data will be used to determine trends in transmission of these diseases and will be used to plan prevention and treatment programs.

St. John's Research Institute, a leading research agency in Bangalore, will field-test bioLytical's prototype test kits, as well as the final model. Final testing will also be done in Ontario through two other Canadian partners in the project: the University of Toronto's Centre for Global Health Research and the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion.

BioLytical will host a young researcher from St. John's Research Institute to help develop the test kit. In return, a student from Canada will go to India as part of the team piloting the test kit and software.

The project is expected to be complete by late 2011.

Since June 2001, the B.C. government has committed more than $1.7 billion to research and innovation, which has leveraged more than $1 billion in added research funding from other sources.

THE PROBLEM, THE PROJECT, THE PARTNERS

The problem:

* HIV-AIDS is a worldwide epidemic, with an estimated 33 million people infected by the disease today, mostly in poor countries.

* Many people do not know they have the virus and thus do not know they must take precautions to avoid infecting others. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates 12,000 British Columbians are infected with HIV, with more than 3,000 of those people unaware they have the virus.

* India, with an estimated 2.5 million cases, has the second-largest number of people infected with HIV in the world. Testing in India is difficult due to field conditions and lack of local labs and hospitals.

* Syphilis and genital herpes multiply the risk of contracting HIV several fold because these diseases create microscopic lesions through which HIV can enter the bloodstream.

* Worldwide, there are an estimated 12 million cases of syphilis.

* Genital herpes is the second-most prevalent sexually transmitted viral infection in Canada and the rest of the world, with an estimated 86 million people infected worldwide.

* Laboratory tests for these diseases are time-consuming. The longer patients must wait, the more likely they will not return to receive test results and be given treatment and counselling.

* Lab tests are also too expensive for use in large-scale epidemiological studies that could be used to provide information to fight the disease more effectively.

* Enhanced surveillance of HIV and other infections was identified in a consultation between the World Health Organization and the government of India last year.

The project:

* BioLytical Laboratories in Richmond is developing a kit that can be used in clinics and doctors' offices to detect the presence of HIV, syphilis and genital herpes simultaneously.

* The low-cost test will be done from a single finger-prick blood sample in 60 seconds, and interpreted visually, without need for a lab. This will expand access for such testing throughout the world, including regions with few resources.

* Prototype kits will be sent to India for field testing led by St. John's Research Institute.

* Once the product design is finalized, the University of Toronto's Centre for Global Health Research will design a study to ensure the test kit works well.

* The study will be conducted in Ontario through the Centre for Global Health Research, the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, and in India through St. John's Research Institute.

* Meanwhile, Kentropy Technologies in Bangalore will develop software that will be used to collect, store and analyze test results, as well as information about the behaviours of those who are infected.

This will help predict trends and determine public health policy.

* The testing kits are expected to be used in countries around the world. The estimated market for the kits in India alone is 500,000 per year once it has state approval.

The partners

British Columbia

Province of British Columbia - $220,000

Since 2001, the government of B.C. has invested $1.7 billion to support research and innovation, which has leveraged another $1 billion in research funding from other sources.

* B.C.'s research strengths include life sciences, digital media, particle physics, oceanography, resource management and alternative energies.

BioLytical Laboratories Inc., Richmond - $200,000

* BioLytical Laboratories is a leading Canadian biotech company that has developed HIV test kits that can be used quickly, easily and inexpensively in doctors' offices and clinics, with no need to send samples to a lab.

* The company has established markets for its products in Canada, Europe and India, and the kits are approved in more than 40 countries worldwide.

Canada

International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada - $300,000

* ISTPCanada is a not-for-profit organization mandated by governments to support Canadian participation in collaborative research projects with counterparts globally, starting with China and India.

* Its purpose is to strengthen business-to-business relationships in the science and technology sector, with emphasis on research projects with potential for commercial application.

Industrial Research Assistance Program - $43,325

* The Industrial Research Assistance Program is funded by Canada's National Research Council and provides technical and business-oriented advisory services and financial support to expanding small and medium-sized enterprises.

* The program supports innovative research and development and helps these Canadian companies prepare to commercialize their new products and services.

Centre for Global Health Research, Toronto - $289,569

* The Centre for Global Health Research at St.

Michael's Hospital is part of the University of Toronto.

* The centre has long-term experience implementing large-scale epidemiological studies in India.

Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion - $59,253

* The Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion was created following the SARS outbreak in 2003, and provides infectious disease surveillance, monitoring and program support for Ontario.

* It has been a leader in long-term archiving of blood samples from HIV testing, and is working to turn these repositories into publicly available research databanks.

India

(Note: $C1 equals about 40 Indian rupees)

Department of Biotechnology - 4.47 million rupees (about C$111,800)

* The Department of Biotechnology has been part of India's Ministry of Science and Technology since 1986.

* It has helped expand the use of biotechnology in health care, agriculture, animal sciences, environment, and industry.

St. John's Research Institute, St. John's Medical College, Bangalore - 2.24 million rupees (about C$56,000)

* St. John's Research Institute is the Indian academic partner in this project.

* The institute is a leading research organization in India that conducts epidemiological studies that are applied to population health. This includes clinical trials.

Kentropy Technologies, Bangalore, India - 2.23 million rupees (about $C56,000)

* Kentropy Technologies develops innovative software for information systems, such as the databases for India's Million Deaths Study, which is examining a million deaths over 16 years to find out the underlying causes of child and adult deaths, as well as key risk factors for these deaths.

* This work included designing remote electronic entry platforms that can integrate biological samples, track their delivery to a secure long-term repository, and provide secure and confidential results backto patients using a secure, encrypted mobile text message service.

CONTACT: Carolyn Heiman, Communications Manager, Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development, Province of BC Tel: +1 250 952 0152 Tel: +1 250 888 3545 Rick Galli, Chief Technical Officer, bioLytical Laboratories Inc, Province of British Columbia Tel: +1 604 204 6784 ext. 230 Tel: +1 604 830 3311

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