Roche Diagnostics investigates viral load monitoring test

Roche Diagnostics has announced that it is to investigate whether its automated test for hepatitis C viral load monitoring can be marketed for diagnostic use.

The Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HCV test from the company aims to provide information concerning the amount of hepatitis C virus present in a patient’s blood in a range of levels.

It is used to analyse how patients infected with hepatitis C are responding to drug therapy they are receiving.

The drug has been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration in the US to be reviewed.

Daniel O’Day, head of Roche Molecular Diagnostics, commented that this decision marked a key landmark in the development of the company’s automated virology product portfolio.

“As the global leader in molecular diagnostics, our goal is to continue to increase system integration and automation, enabling labs to deliver reliable healthcare information with greater ease and efficiency,” he said.

Patients with hepatitis C are commonly treated with a combination therapy involving pegylated interferon with ribavirin drugs, which can get rid of the virus in half of patients with genotype one form of the virus and up to eight out of ten in those with forms two and three.

In October 2006, Roche signed an agreement with InterMune to collaborate on the research, development and commercialisation of hepatitis C protease inhibitors.