Cepheid recently announced that its quantitative hepatitis C virus infection viral load test, Xpert HCV Viral Load, has achieved CE-IVD status under the European Directive on In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices.

The test received approval as a medical device and will enable HCV viral load to be monitored and detected while it produces results in less than 2 hours. The test is designed to be used in managing HCV-positive patients currently undergoing antiviral therapy and it can also be used to help predict sustained and non sustained virological responses to HCV therapy, to measure the HCV RNA levels at baseline and during treatment, and to confirm HCV serologic test results.

“Cepheid’s Xpert HCV Viral Load test delivers results in hours rather than days — with the simplicity and ease of use of a point-of-care test. It is a very sensitive test for confirmation of infection and monitoring of HCV, and will assist in better patient management,” said Jean-Michel Pawlotsky from the University of Paris-Est who is also the director of the National Reference Center for Viral Hepatitis B, C and Delta.

“Existing HCV viral load tests run on complex systems that require highly-trained technicians to operate, and generally lack the flexibility to provide on-demand answers when required. Xpert HCV Viral Load, our 21st CE-IVD Xpert test, provides reliable results in less than 2 hours, making it a valuable tool for clinicians in the management of HCV infected patients on antiviral therapy,” added John Bishop, chief executive officer of Cepheid.

Read More Recent News Concerning Hepatitis C

A study recently published in the journal Kidney International conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania revealed that patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have better kidney transplant outcomes in comparison to patients with hepatitis C and patients co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV). The study is entitled “Superior outcomes in HIV–positive kidney transplant patients compared with HCV–infected or HIV/HCV–connected recipients.”

The team concluded that HIV did not have an adverse impact on survival after kidney transplant and that it was associated to improved outcomes in comparison with HCV and HIV/HCV co-infection.