Omega Diagnostics geta approval for HIV test in Nigeria

Medical diagnostics company Omega Diagnostics has received approval from the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria, to enable its ‘VISITECT CD4 350’ test product to be deployed in that country, it announced on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said that, following a product evaluation in six geopolitical zones in Nigeria coordinated by the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme (NASCP), that programme recommended to the Ministry of Health (MOH) that the VISITECT CD4 350 test be adopted into the National HIV Control Programme as a rapid and instrument-free test device, to provide actionable results at the point of care.

It said MOH approval meant the VISITECT CD4 350 test was the first rapid and instrument-free CD4 test to be implemented throughout Nigeria in the care of people living with HIV.

As it announced on 2 December, Omega had received initial orders from its distribution partner in the market for 250,000 tests, and said it would now look to firm up a delivery schedule to determine what proportion of that demand could be shipped by the end of the financial year.

“I am pleased that our test has been approved for use in Nigeria which was one of our key strategic aims and allows our unique point-of-care test to make a real difference to people living with HIV in Nigeria,” said chief executive officer Colin King.

At 1412 GMT, shares in Omega Diagnostics were up 9.49% at 16.15p.