Roche has launched a new FDA-approved dual-target HIV-1 viral load test to improve the ability of physicians to monitor viral load and manage the treatment of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 test v2.0 utilizes the High Pure system viral nucleic acid kit for manual specimen preparation and the automated real-time COBAS TaqMan 48 PCR analyzer for amplification and detection.
The test targets two conserved regions of the HIV-1 genome and avoids any regions which are current drug targets, thus providing reliable test results even when mutations are present.
Roche Diagnostics molecular diagnostics senior vice president Whitney Green said, "The availability of this new test will enable more labs, clinicians and patients to have access to Roche’s innovative HIV technology."
In addition to HIV detection, the High Pure System provides manual specimen preparation for Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B testing via automated real-time PCR.