Roche has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its hepatitis C virus (HCV) quantitative RNA test to be used as an aid in the diagnosis of HCV infection for certain patient populations. Results from the COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HCV Test, v2.0 can now be used to confirm an active hepatitis infection, in addition to providing an accurate measurement of how much virus is in a patient's blood, to help a physician determine the best course of treatment. This expanded use for the test saves a physician time in making a treatment decision and helps improve patient care.
"Hepatitis C can be a silent killer, but with several highly effective new antiviral drugs on the market, there is a very high cure rate," said Alan Wright, MD, MPH, chief medical officer at Roche Diagnostics. "That's why the CDC recommends HCV testing for persons at risk for infection and for everyone born between 1945 and 1965. But a positive HCV antibody test alone does not indicate an active infection. So it's critical for physicians to diagnose an active infection by detecting the presence of hepatitis C virus RNA."
The Roche test is the first quantitative HCV RNA test to be approved for use as an aid in diagnosis for active HCV infection. This expanded indication is in addition to its approved use as a viral load test to help physicians assess a patient's response to antiviral therapy. Roche HCV viral load tests have also been used to establish the treatment efficacy of direct-acting antiviral treatment regimens recently approved by the FDA. The COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HCV Test, v2.0 is part of Roche's expanding portfolio of diagnostic tests to diagnose, confirm and manage hepatitis C infection.