Siemens launches new hepatitis C assay

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has announced the launch of the Enzygnost Anti-HCV 4.0 Assay, a new hepatitis C testing system that can help reduce the number of false-positive results.

Featuring high sensitivity and specificity, it can produce a test result 30 minutes to one hour faster than competing hepatitis C virus assays in the microtitration plate format.

It delivers false-positive outcome rates of less than one in 1,000, while it can also ensure fewer blood donor deferrals, more donations added to the blood supply, fewer expensive reruns and earlier diagnoses.

This completes Siemens' integrated infectious disease screening panel for blood banks, with all Enzygnost assays following the same procedures and using the same supplementary reagent components.

"Now, blood banks of any size can turn to Siemens as a single-source supplier for all of their Enzygnost low, mid and high-volume blood screening testing needs," said the company.

Last week, the company attended the American Society for Microbiology's general meeting in San Francisco, where it demonstrated a number of new products, including offerings from partners Copan and Bruker.