$15 Million HIV-1 Detection Kit Plant Construction Begins.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K SHREVEPORT, La.--(BW HealthWire)--April 26, 2000 A groundbreaking marked the beginning of construction for Bio-Tech Imaging Inc.'s (BTI's) new production plant for HIV-1 testing products. BTI BTI Beverage Testing Institute BTI Boyce Thompson Institute BTI British American Tobacco (stock symbol) BTI Boston Theological Institute Bti Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis BTI BioTechnology Institute BTI Binding Tariff Information and the Biomedical Research Biomedical research (or experimental medicine), in general simply known as medical research, is the basic research or applied research conducted to aid the body of knowledge in the field of medicine. Foundation (BRF BRF the ratio of bulls to cows. Targets vary widely depending on circumstances and efficiency required. ) of Northwestern Louisiana have joined forces to create the facility that will employ 86 people in the production of BTI's patented cell-separation products. BTI's Tag And Drag technology detects the presence of HIV-1 using monoclonal antibodies to label by attaching to the infected cells that are actually producing the virus in the body. The process then separates the tagged, infected cells from uninfected cells magnetically. This process, which takes only a few hours, could allow medical professionals to diagnose HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. infection quickly on the basis of the presence of infected cells. These cells could appear in detectable quantities as soon as two-to-three days after exposure to the virus. Eventually, this same process could also be used to determine the level of infection by counting the productively infected cells. Other diagnostic tests now in use rely on detecting antibodies to HIV-1 or the presence of viral RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic resulting from the infection. These processes often require more advanced infections and take more time, more effort and more complex laboratory procedures to detect HIV-1. BTI's products are currently available to the research market only. BTI will be seeking FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. approval of its process for diagnostic use in conjunction with the completion of the Shreveport plant. "This is an obvious milestone for us," said BTI's President, Chester King. "We believe that our product will revolutionize the way the medical community detects and tracks the level of infection in HIV-positive individuals. Earlier and more precise diagnosis will vastly improve the ability to provide therapy to people who live with HIV," King added. The BTI plant marks the beginning of biotechnology developments in Shreveport's new InterTech Research Park. The area has been in the planning stages for several years by BRF along with federal, state and local officials. The InterTech area lies within a triangle bounded by two regional hospitals and the LSU LSU Louisiana State University LSU Large Subunit LSU La Salle University (Philadelphia, PA) LSU La Sierra University LSU Link State Update (OSPF) LSU Learning Support Unit Medical Center/BRF facilities. Congressman Jim McCrory (R-La), Mayor Keith Hightower and LSU President Dr. William Jenkins joined BRF and BTI officials for the ceremonies this morning in Shreveport. Bio-Tech Imaging Inc. is a research, development and commercialization company headquartered in Frederick, Md., with research labs at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. The BTI website URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. is http://www.biotechimaging.com. |
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