The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has recognized the contributions of Matthews Specialty Vehicles for its efforts in fighting Ebola, making potentially life-saving therapies available to those affected by the deadly virus, the company announced.

In partnership with primary award recipient Clinical Research Management Inc., the Matthews Specialty Vehicles team created three mobile vehicles designed to assist research teams in the diagnosis and treatment of Ebola in areas of acute need such as Guinea and neighboring countries.

"When we were approached by ClinicalRM about the creation of blood analysis vehicles that can reach areas affected by the Ebola virus and potentially save lives, we knew this was something we had to do," said Dennis Hoag, sales director at Matthews Specialty Vehicles. "We've equipped each vehicle with both plasma collection systems and a pathogen inactivation blood system. Research teams will be able to test the feasibility of cutting edge treatments, facilitating the search for a vaccine and effectively accelerating recovery time for those already affected."

The Matthews Specialty Vehicles team donated time, labor and expertise in the development of vehicles for mobile plasma collection, providing for greater production and evaluation of blood products and potential therapies for those infected with the Ebola virus. By year's end, these vehicles were loaded on cargo planes leaving from Raleigh Durham International Airport and flown to Africa for deployment.