Roche selected as Japanese Red Cross partner

Roche has been selected by the Japanese Red Cross (JRC) to be the supplier of next-generation nucleic acid screening of the country’s five million annual blood donations.

The cobas s 401 test system will be used which can simultaneously detect HIV and Hepatitis in donated blood.

Daniel O’Day, president and chief executive officer of Roche Molecular Diagnostics, expressed his pride in Roche’s selection.

“Together, the cobas s 401 instrument and the cobas TaqScreen MPX Test represent a significant step forward in blood centre automation and improved safety for patients receiving donated blood.”

The cobas s 401 instrument and cobas TaqScreen MPX Test will replace the previously used Roche AmpliNAT multiplex which has been in use in three JRC Testing centres since 1999.

Nucleic acid testing (NAT) is a highly sensitive technology that often detects viral infections that other donor screening methods miss and so can improve blood safety.

JRC’s decision to select Roche followed an extensive in-house evaluation of competitor systems.

This week, Roche published its financial figures for the first nine months of the year, with the company posting “strong” sales growth for the period while restating its core-earnings per share target and outlook for the full year.