Credit: Clinton Foundation

In 2004, CHAI first announced agreements with five companies to reduce pricing for two key HIV/AIDS diagnostic tests,CD4 and viral load, CHAI has been working with suppliers of diagnostic tests and reagents for HIV/AIDS to bring down the cost of such tests and associated commodities. Since then, CHAI has entered into agreements to reduce the price of HIV rapid tests for initial diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in individuals over 18 months of age and reduce the price DNA PCR tests for early infant diagnosis. Although all of these tests were generally standard in developed countries, they were not widely available in resource-poor countries because of the high cost of the testing equipment and supplies. Low-cost HIV rapid tests have in most cases supplanted the more costly ELISA and Western Blot testing for initial diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in all but infants, and DNA PCR testing is generally considered the gold standard for initial diagnosis of infants (individuals 18 months of age and younger). If an individual is HIV-positive, monitoring the patient’s CD4 count and viral load enhances the overall quality of care and treatment by allowing clinicians to monitor the progression of the disease and the success of ARV treatment.

With respect to HIV rapid tests, CHAI has agreements with Chembio, Orgenics, Qualpro, Shanghai Kehua and Trinity Biotech. These agreements have resulted in lowering prices for such tests by up to 50 percent from market prices in 2003. For CD4 testing, CHAI now has agreements with Becton Dickinson, Beckman Coulter and Guava, and for viral load testing, CHAI has agreements with Siemens (formerly Bayer), bioMérieux, Roche and Cavidi. These companies have agreed to provide pricing that is up to 80 percent lower than market prices in 2003. It should be noted, however, that specific pricing may vary by country due to the costs of servicing that market. Furthermore, with respect to CD4 and viral load tests, the agreements generally offer countries the ability to enter into leasing arrangements that bundle the placement of the testing instrument, lab technician training, service and maintenance, reagents and consumables in one low price per test. This helps countries avoid large up-front costs for instrument purchase, while ensuring that technicians are trained and instruments are appropriately serviced and maintained. Similarly, CHAI’s agreement with Roche for DNA PCR tests, introduces a unique turn-key solution whereby countries can purchase any or all of: equipment bundles, dried blood spot collection bundles and laboratory consumable bundles in addition to the testing reagents. By bundling all required commodities to run a DNA PCR test, the agreement enables countries to implement DNA PCR testing for infants in a more efficient and cost-effective manner than putting together the required commodities piecemeal.

CHAI continues to monitor the market to find ways to make additional products and new technologies affordable and accessible in the developing world.

Procurement inquiries can be directed to chaiprocurement@clintonfoundation.org.