NEW YORK – FIND said Tuesday that it has forged agreements with Abbott, Siemens Healthineers, and i-SENS to improve access to point-of-care glycated hemoglobin tests that will be used to reduce diabetes underdiagnosis in low- and middle-income countries.
The global diagnostics access organization said the three firms have agreed to offer at a discount point-of-care HbA1c testing kits that provide a patient's average blood sugar concentration over two to three months. The agreement involves Abbott's Afinion, Siemens Healthineers' DCA Vantage, and i-SENS' A1Care tests.
FIND said an estimated 537 million people were living with diabetes as of 2021, almost half of them without a diabetes diagnosis. Almost 9 in 10 of those without diagnoses live in low- or middle-income countries, where the tests can be unavailable or too expensive for families without assistance, it said.
FIND Chief Access Officer Emma Hannay said HbA1c testing is essential to the diagnosis and management of diabetes.
"We have the technology," she said. "By making it more financially accessible, we can give millions of people the chance to take control of their health and live well with diabetes."
Mike Nassif, Siemens Healthineers' head of point-of-care diagnostics, said diabetes rates are rapidly rising in low- and middle-income countries and many underserved communities have difficulty accessing testing.
"Increasing access to testing will support individuals and their healthcare providers in learning important health information, initiating care, monitoring disease progression, and potentially preventing unnecessary diabetes disease progression," he said.