Alere Partners With Malaria No More On Power Of One Campaign In The Fight Against Malaria

WATHAM, Mass., Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR), a leading provider of near-patient diagnostics and health information solutions, is partnering with Malaria No More on its Power of One campaign, which kicks off today and will raise funds to deliver life-saving tests and treatment to children in Africa. Alere and Malaria No More, a global non-profit determined to end malaria deaths, are collaborating on the initiative to accelerate progress in the fight against malaria.

Power of One is a campaign to engage the global public and the world's most innovative companies to help close the malaria testing and treatment gap in Africa using the latest mobile, social, and e-commerce technologies. Every dollar donated to the campaign – via the campaign's new, mobile-friendly website Po1.org – will provide life-saving screening and treatment for a child in Africa. In 2014 and 2015, it's estimated that over 300 million treatments are needed to ensure everyone with malaria has access to the life-saving tools.

Alere, the exclusive diagnostics partner to Malaria No More, will donate over the course of the campaign two million of its Alere SD BIOLINE Malaria Rapid tests to provide screening to African children who are at risk. With test results in 15 minutes from a drop of finger stick blood, the Alere SD BIOLINE Malaria test can accurately diagnose malaria to enable timely treatment with the potential to save a life.

"As the world's leading provider of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria, Alere is deeply committed to working with partners such as Malaria No More to eradicate deaths from this deadly disease, one that particularly strikes young children," said Avi Pelossof, Global President of Infectious Disease at Alere. "We encourage people to support the Power of One campaign and help end malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria transmission still occurs in 99 countries and the disease caused an estimated 660,000 deaths in 2010, mainly among children under five years of age in sub-Saharan Africa.[1]  By strengthening diagnostic testing and treatment of the disease, affected countries can substantially improve the quality of care, and eventually win the fight against malaria.

For more information about the Power of One campaign, please visit www.po1.org.

About Alere

By developing new capabilities in near-patient diagnosis, monitoring and health information technology, Alere enables individuals to take charge of improving their health and quality of life at home. Alere's global leading products and services, as well as its new product development efforts, focus on cardiology, infectious disease, toxicology and diabetes. Alere is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information regarding Alere, please visit www.alere.com.  

[1] World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/.

SOURCE Alere Inc.