US-China-AIDS: US firm to make quickie AIDS test kits in China

Agence France-Presse - July 24, 2001

SHANGHAI, July 24 (AFP) - US company Calcol Inc said Tuesday it will begin making quick result AIDS test kits in China this year to be sold to developing countries ravaged by the virus.
Currently the kits are made by Israeli company Zer Hitech in Jerusalem, which produces around five million kits a year, but Calcol signed an agreement with Zer on July 19 to produce more kits in China and to help with worldwide distribution.
There are estimated to be 25 million people in Africa alone afflicted with AIDS and a growing number carrying its precursor, the HIV virus, across the developing world.
World leaders at the G8 summit this week committed one billion dollars to the fight against AIDS and a key part of that battle will be finding efficient ways to diagnose the disease in poor countries.
The firm has submitted proposals for test production to the United Nations and UN AIDS, the Global Business Council, and Coca Cola Co. which have all pledged large sums to battle the virus globally.
Calcol expects eventually to produce 25-50 million units a year in China.
Calcol Inc holds the majority stake in China pharmaceutical joint venture Calcol Changbaishan Pharmaceutical Ltd in south China's Shenzhen and Beijing soft drinks maker Sanhe Meile Soft Drinks.
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Copyright © AFP or Agence France-Presse, 2001

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