Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland, is expanding its Global Access Program to include hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV), human papillomavirus (HPV), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB).
The company says that expanding its program beyond HIV treatment highlights its commitment to improving access to cost-effective resources, implementing scale-up programs, and contributing to the elimination of diseases in the regions with the greatest need. The upgraded program will focus on low- and middle-income countries where the disease burden is highest.
Michael Heuer, Roche Diagnostics.
“With effective treatment options for these infectious agents and improved patient access to diagnostics, early detection can help save lives and ease suffering,” says Michael Heuer, CEO of Roche Diagnostics. “As the leader in infectious disease diagnosis testing, Roche is dedicated to support goals on eradicating diseases globally.”
Roche introduced the Global Access Program for increased access to HIV diagnostics in 2014. The company partnered with national governments, local healthcare facilities, communities, and international agencies to establish programs that offer more than just diagnostic tests. Since its inception, the program has expanded substantially to provide increased access to affordable diagnostics for qualifying organizations in eligible countries with the highest disease burden. Program partners include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and UNAIDS. Most recently, the Global Access Program introduced the innovative Cobas plasma separation card to provide the only CE-marked plasma sample collection device that meets the World Health Organization sensitivity standard of 1
In total, the Global Access Program now includes the Cobas plasma separation card, and molecular diagnostics for hepatitis B and C, HIV-1 and HIV-2 early infant diagnosis, HIV-1 viral load, human papillomavirus, and MTB and MTB–RIF/INH. Enabled by the Cobas plasma separation card, which transports samples from remote areas and sites to the central lab for further processing, all of the assays run on the Cobas 4800/6800/8800 platforms for various testing volume needs.
For more information visit Roche.
Reference
1. Wentzensen N, Arbyn M. HPV-based cervical cancer screening: facts, fiction, and misperceptions. Prev Med. 2017;98:33–35; doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.12.040.
Featured image: A three-dimensional computer-generated illustration of a cluster of rod-shaped, drug-resistant, Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, the pathogen responsible for causing tuberculosis. Rendering by James Archer courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Image Library (ID 16881).
