IDEV was actually founded as a research center and opened its doors to outpatients at the request of those who were not accepted in the clinical trials. Its first protocol began in 1999 and it has done studies for various American pharmaceutical companies and in areas such as  medicine for HIV, epidemiology of HIV in female sex worker, the Merck HIV vaccine, medicine for hepatitis B and will soon begin a study of a new medicine for influenza.

 

Other studies such as ones financed by amFar or international AIDS Society have been devoted to papilloma virus in MSM and trans females or studies done using information generated in the institute, these include the acceptance of the female condom by IDEV’s female patients, the awareness of the danger to take ARVs with grapefruit juice, and a study of the affectiveness of talks on HIV given at a local bank using a HIV infected patient to recount her story.

 

IDEV is always open to working with any individual or group interested in doing studies which are original and can advance science, always with high standards. The quality of IDEV´s work is reflected in the lack of any objections or irregularities noted after an FDA audit in 2012; and in 2000 when IDEV was recognized by Covance Laboratory of the United States to be among the top three worldwide in quality of sample shipments between 1,800 clinical laboratories. 

 

IDEV has two laboratories: the first is dedicated to specialized tests associated with HIV and CD4 count, western blot, and rapid screening test for HIV. This department is also responsible for bleeding patients in clinical trials and preparing shipments to other domestic and foreign laboratories. All four of the bioanalysts are certified by IATA for shipping hazardous material. Recently, a second laboratory began to form on the second floor of the Institute, the Laboratory of Molecular Bio-Medicine. This area, under the direction of Dr. Marisol Castro, geneticist, with 8 years experience in Spain, lifts the cartel testing to a new level. With equipment donated in part by an organization of the USA, the IDEV aims to provide in time n fast and timely diagnosis of opportunistic infections whose analyzes are not available in the country or whose time to diagnose is long as in the case of tuberculosis. 

 

Students come to the bioanalytical laboratory for training in universal precautions for handling human samples.