A Scottish diagnostics firm has had its overdraft facility increased by £1 million to increase manufacturing of an HIV test originally developed with support from Bill Gates.
Omega Diagnostics, based in Alva, focuses on allergy, food intolerance and infection disease.
It had a difficult start to the financial year with pre-tax profits falling 21.7% to £132,000 because the wet summer led to reduced pollen levels and lessen demand for anti-allergy products.
However, the company’s point-of-care CD4 test to monitor T-cells in HIV positive patients has already been welcomed by Aids and HIV experts in South Africa, and the company believes there will be huge demand for the product.
The fewer T-cells a person with HIV has, the weaker their immune system will be. Measuring T-cell count allows doctors to prescribe the correct medicine for treatment.
The new overdraft has been agreed on the same terms as the £0.7m facility agreed in May.
Omega’s test was developed with support from the Gates Foundation, the charity run by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda.
It is predicted the assay could eventually be used to carry out 34m tests a year, and the increased overdraft will allow Omega to meet this demand.
Last month Omega was awarded a regional selective assistance grant of up to £150,000 by Scottish Enterprise to help with plans to scale up manufacturing facilities to accommodate anticipated demand for the new test.