London-listed Omega Diagnostics (AIM:ODX) has received approval from the Federal Ministry of Health to deploy its HIV test in Nigeria.
The news follows two initial orders made by the group’s Nigerian distribution partner for a combined total of 250,000 tests in December which Omega said at the time remained conditional upon MOH’s approval of the test into Nigeria’s national HIV policy.
The VISITECT® CD4 350 test will now be the first rapid and instrument-free CD4 test to be implemented throughout Nigeria for the care of those living with HIV, the statement explained.
The approval was contingent on a product evaluation across six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, co-ordinated by the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme.
This was completed and subsequently lead to a recommendation by the NASCP to the MOH for the test be adopted into Nigeria's National HIV Control Programme.
Shares in Omega Diagnostics reacted positively and were trading 8.47% higher at 16p on Friday morning.
The company said it will now look to firm up a delivery schedule to determine what proportion of this demand can be shipped prior to the end of the financial year.
“It allows our unique point-of-care test to make a real difference to people living with HIV in Nigeria,” said Colin King, Chief Executive of Omega who expressed his delight at the approval.
According to the National Agency for the Control of Aids, 2009 national HIV policy highlights prevention as a critical strategy for halting new HIV infections in Nigeria.
Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and one of the highest rates of new infections in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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