Roche joins forces with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen laboratory systems in the fight against the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics
- It is critical to strengthen laboratories to enable more people to access quality testing and build stronger, resilient healthcare systems
- Public-private partnerships contribute to strengthening laboratory systems by leveraging the respective strengths, experience, and resources of the partners
- About 2 billion people worldwide are estimated to be infected with tuberculosis and more than 38 million people globally are living with HIV, including over 6 million undiagnosed.
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today the expansion of its collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to strengthen laboratory capabilities in countries greatly affected by the HIV and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics. Through the implementation of a public-private partnership (PPP), named “Lab Networks for Health,” Roche and the CDC will seek to improve HIV and tuberculosis prevention, detection, and treatment outcomes in select countries of Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Western Hemisphere (e.g., Latin America, Central America, and Caribbean Regions).
Specifically, Roche and CDC intend to increase laboratory human resource capacity building through expanded training interventions and to support laboratory quality management systems and improvement programs. The partners will also seek to optimise laboratory workflows and integrated diagnostics networks to increase access to multi-pathogen testing capabilities to enhance pandemic preparedness. In addition, they will work to improve local and regional capacity for effective laboratory waste management and related biosafety approaches.
”We are proud to continue our longstanding partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to further support efforts that scale up and expand access to diagnostics for tuberculosis, HIV, and emerging pandemics”, said Bernard Colombo, President Europe Middle East, Africa, and Latin America of Roche Diagnostics. ”Investments in strong laboratory networks contribute to the strengthening of health systems that enable people to have access to life-saving testing and treatment for improved disease management and quality of life.”
“CDC’s global laboratory-supported systems and networks are critical for detecting and monitoring HIV and tuberculosis and have also been vital in the response to COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks,” said Dr. Hank Tomlinson, Director of CDC’s Division of Global HIV and TB. “Our renewed partnership with Roche Diagnostics will help to sustain these essential platforms, enhance laboratory workforce capacity, and identify efficiencies in multi-disease public health laboratory systems to ensure accurate, reliable, and responsive diagnostic services globally.”
All activities under the PPP will be developed in a manufacturer-agnostic and collaborative manner among representatives from CDC, including country offices, Roche global and regional offices, and host country Ministries of Health, with the goal of creating and improving local and regional institutional capacity for laboratory systems strengthening.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted progress towards reaching the World Health Organization (WHO) HIV and tuberculosis elimination goals and brought challenges to health care systems across countries and communities, putting lives at risk. A recent UNAIDS report highlighted the faltering progress for HIV programs, with approximately 1.5 million new infections occurring in 2021; more than 1 million over the global target.¹ Reversing years of declines, about 10.6 million people worldwide became ill with
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