- New announcement released on the eve of the 5th Global Congress on Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria.
Boston, USA. May 30, 2025—The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) today announced a landmark agreement to provide affordable access to sickle cell disease diagnosis in low- and middle-income countries. This price reduction will enable the global scale-up of detection for a disease that kills up to 90 percent of affected children before their fifth birthday when they lack access to proper care.
Silver Lake Research Corporation will supply its HemoTypeSC rapid diagnostic test at an ex-works price of US$1.00 per test, a breakthrough in affordability for sickle cell disease testing.
The agreement with Silver Lake Research will support large-scale deployment of testing at local clinics for a fraction of the cost of conventional, centralized systems. The ability to produce rapid, highly accurate results at or near the point-of-care will improve timely linkage to care and treatment.
“We are proud to collaborate with CHAI and supply our life-saving tests all across Africa. HemoTypeSC was specifically designed to be used in low-income countries and even rural areas, where there is no other solution to test for sickle cell disease,” said Alexander Gruzdev, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Silver Lake Research.
This breakthrough price reduction is made possible by a three-year grant of US$8 million from Open Philanthropy—the first major donor investment specifically focused on making sickle cell disease care affordable. With this grant, CHAI is mobilizing the international community to prioritize and secure funding to close significant gaps in sickle cell disease care, ensuring those with sickle cell disease are screened and put into care. This agreement reflects CHAI’s concerted efforts to advance sickle cell disease care and commitment to identify and help save the lives of children, adolescents, and adults living with sickle cell disease as cost-effectively as possible.
“These diagnostic tests are a complete game-changer for testing accessibility and the first step in establishing a continuum of care for children with sickle cell disease,” said Dr. David Ripin, Executive Vice President, Infectious Diseases & Chief Scientific Officer at CHAI. “The availability of quality, low-cost diagnostics will dramatically expand testing coverage, reaching more people in need at a time when dollars for public health are stretched so thin.”
— Ends–
About CHAI
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and improving health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries by enabling the government and private sector to strengthen and sustain quality health systems. For more information, visit: www.clintonhealthaccess.org.
Media Contact
Saze Ibraheem: sibraheem@clintonhealthaccess.org
