Test evaluates HCV load to enable effective therapy choices

The assay has a low limit of detection, enabling healthcare providers to accurately monitor HCV populations.

A newly-developed viral load assay could enable healthcare providers to better tailor treatment courses for individual hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients to improve outcomes and reduce costs.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings' COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HCV Test has a lower limit of detection and quantification (15 IU/mL) than many others on the market.

This means that it can more reliably distinguish the presence of virus particles against absence, enabling superior recognition of patients in early stages of HCV or with lingering infection.

Approximately 150 million people globally are affected by the condition each year, and 350,000 go on to develop related liver diseases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The infection can be cured through the administration of antivirals, and viral load assays allow healthcare professionals to determine the best method of treatment and monitor results.

Chief medical officer at the manufacturer Dr Mark Brecher said: "LabCorp is proud of its longstanding and prominent role of providing innovative and novel diagnostic tests to assist physicians in treating and managing chronic HCV infection."