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Science Quote by Luc Montagnier

"We are working with a biotech company, Calypte, which has designed a urine test for the HIV antibody"

About this Quote

The line lands with the clipped pragmatism of lab culture: not a moral plea or a lofty proclamation, but a logistical update that quietly signals a turning point in how an epidemic could be managed. Montagnier isn’t “announcing hope” so much as normalizing a new kind of public-health infrastructure. “We are working with” foregrounds collaboration and industry partnership, hinting at the late-20th-century shift from discovery science to product pipelines, where breakthroughs only matter if they can be manufactured, distributed, and trusted.

The specific intent is blunt: make HIV detection easier, less invasive, and potentially more scalable. A urine test is technically and culturally consequential. It sidesteps needles and blood draws, which can be barriers in under-resourced clinics and high-stigma environments. It also lowers the psychological threshold for testing. In the background is a recognition that surveillance and early diagnosis are as crucial as treatments; a test can change behavior, policy, and resource allocation long before it changes a patient’s prognosis.

The subtext is also about legitimacy. Naming Calypte reads like a credibility stamp and a bid for momentum: this isn’t speculative research; it’s a deliverable. During the years when HIV testing was politically loaded and socially dangerous, a non-blood test implies privacy, discretion, and a softer point of entry into care - while still raising hard questions about consent, confidentiality, and what happens after a positive result.

Context matters: Montagnier, closely tied to HIV’s scientific history, is positioning the next phase as implementation. The quote is about the unglamorous work of turning knowledge into access.

Quote Details

TopicScience
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Montagnier, Luc. (2026, January 18). We are working with a biotech company, Calypte, which has designed a urine test for the HIV antibody. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-are-working-with-a-biotech-company-calypte-3461/

Chicago Style
Montagnier, Luc. "We are working with a biotech company, Calypte, which has designed a urine test for the HIV antibody." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-are-working-with-a-biotech-company-calypte-3461/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"We are working with a biotech company, Calypte, which has designed a urine test for the HIV antibody." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-are-working-with-a-biotech-company-calypte-3461/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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Montagnier on urine HIV testing and diagnostic access
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About the Author

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Luc Montagnier (August 18, 1932 - February 8, 2022) was a Scientist from France.

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