FDA Approves Roche’s Improved Version of HIV Viral Load Test
Swiss drug maker Roche announced on Friday that it has received FDA approval for an automated version of a test used to detect and measure HIV RNA in the blood of HIV-positive patients, Reuters reports (Reuters, 4/11). The Cobas Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Test version 1.5 can measure viral load levels as low as 50 copies of HIV RNA per milliliter of blood plasma. In addition, the test can detect a broader range of HIV-1 subtypes than previous tests, which will "be crucial to HIV patient care on a global basis," according to a Roche release (Roche release, 4/11).
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