New Test for Hepatitis B Provides More Tailored Solutions for Patients

[Guest guest]

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_b/news/2011/0225_2010_a.html

New Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Test Helps Assess Treatment Response

SUMMARY: Roche Diagnostics this week announced the launch of a new hepatitis B

surface antigen (HBsAg) test to help clinicians evaluate patient response to

treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Reduction or clearance

of HBsAg is one indicator of good response, along with decreased HBV DNA viral

load.

Below is an edited excerpt from a Roche Diagnostics press release describing the

new test.

New Test for Hepatitis B Provides More Tailored Solutions for Patients

Bangkok -- February 23, 2011 -- The new hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)

quant test enables physicians to assess a patient's response to chronic

hepatitis B treatment

As chronic hepatitis B remains endemic in many parts of Asia, experts from

across the region are meeting at the 21st Asian Pacific Association for the

Study of the Liver (APASL) annual congress in Bangkok, Thailand to discuss

advances in the management of this devastating disease, which is a major cause

of liver cirrhosis and cancer.

One key advance is the availability of a new quantitative test for monitoring a

patient's response to hepatitis B therapy, launched during the congress by Roche

Diagnostics. The test measures the amount of hepatitis B surface antigen

(HBsAg), a marker on the surface of the hepatitis B virus, in a patient's blood.

This, in combination with HBV DNA testing, enables clinicians to provide

tailored treatment approaches for chronic hepatitis B patients.

" Testing is important for the diagnosis and improved management of chronic

hepatitis B. All too often there are either no symptoms until the liver is

severely damaged or the early symptoms are ignored, allowing the disease to

progress untreated with potentially fatal consequences, " said Professor Teerha

Piratvisuth, President of APASL, Director of the NKC Institute of

Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Thailand, and President of Liver Society of

Thailand. " This is a significant problem in Thailand where less than 30 percent

of people with chronic hepatitis B are currently being treated and most do not

even know they are infected. "

Almost a third of the world's population is, at some time, infected with the

hepatitis B virus (HBV) and approximately 350 million people (5%) are currently

chronically infected. In Asia, up to 10 percent of the adult population is

chronically infected with the disease. Every year, 25% to 45% of these HBV

carriers die of HBV-related liver cirrhosis (permanent scarring) or liver

cancer. Liver cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death, particularly

in Asia.

Treatment for chronic hepatitis B aims for complete clearance of the HBsAg in

the patient. Recent data has shown that HBsAg clearance is associated with

reduced disease progression to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, and improved

life expectancy as well as quality of life due to the immune control of the

virus and remission of viral activity.

HBsAg quantitative testing represents a simple and reliable means of assessing

how well the body's own immune system is combating the hepatitis B virus. It

allows clinicians to monitor and assess a patient's response to pegylated

interferon (PEG-IFN) therapy, thereby confidently predict sustained treatment

success early. This is particularly important as studies show that one in three

respond to the PEG-IFN treatment. In addition, there is evidence that HBsAg

levels in combination with HBV DNA levels, can be used to distinguish patients

who do not require therapy (inactive carriers) from those who would benefit from

treatment.

" We now have two complementary tests for monitoring chronic hepatitis B that,

when used in combination, enables us to determine how well a patient is

responding to treatment and to tailor it accordingly " said Professor Henry Chan,

Professor of Medicine, Director of Cheng Suen Man Shook Centre for Hepatitis

Research and Director of Centre for Liver Health of The Chinese University of

Hong Kong. " This is a real advance in the management of chronic hepatitis B as

it enables us to respond quicker than we previously could and, by doing so,

reduce the chance of disease progression. "

Commenting on the advance, Mr. Pichetpong Srisuwankul, General Manager of Roche

Diagnostics Thailand said; " Given the millions of lives affected by hepatitis B

each year, Roche is proud to be able to make a real difference in tackling all

aspects of managing the disease; from initial diagnosis, through to treatment

and ongoing treatment monitoring. Furthermore, this is an area where, once

again, Roche is facilitating healthcare professionals in providing tailored

treatments to individual patients to significantly improve their health and

wellbeing, a demonstration of Roche leading in Personalized Healthcare. "

About the Elecsys HBsAg II Quant Immunoassay

What is the Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay?

The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay is a new test for assessing the amount

of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in chronic hepatitis B patients.

The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay is optimized for clinical decision

making.

What is the role of HBsAg testing?

HBsAg quantitative testing represents a simple and reliable means of assessing

how well the body's own immune system is combating the hepatitis B virus.

With HBsAg quant testing, clinicians can monitor and assess patients' response

to anti-viral therapy. This allows clinicians to predict treatment success early

during pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN) treatment.

Recent data has shown that HBsAg clearance is associated with greatly reduced

liver cancer, liver cirrhosis and improved life expectancy due to the immune

control of the virus and its remission.

Hence, HBsAg testing can also aid in identifying long-term treatment outcomes

in patients.

HBV DNA is currently the most widely used diagnostic test in chronic hepatitis

B patients.

Combined used of HBV DNA and HBsAg quantification tests enable clinicians to

tailor therapy options for optimal treatment outcomes in patients.

There is evidence that HBsAg levels in combination with HBV DNA levels, can be

used to distinguish patients who do not require therapy (inactive carriers) from

those who would benefit from treatment.

What are the advantages of the Elecsys® HBsAg II quant immunoassay?

The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay is optimized for clinical decision making

and has the following advantages:

Enhanced convenience -- The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay has been

optimized to reduce retesting through automated features such as onboard

dilution.

Maximized reliability -- The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay is traceable to

the WHO second international standard for HBsAg and offers accurate and

validated exact results as well as enhanced safety through the onboard dilution

feature. It is also suitable for quantifying HBsAg samples with all major

hepatitis B genotypes.

Excellent precision -- The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay offers excellent

precision across the entire measure range.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused

healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is

the world's largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in

oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world

leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in

diabetes management. Roche's personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing

medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health,

quality of life and survival of patients. In 2010, Roche had over 80,000

employees worldwide and invested over 9 billion Swiss francs in R & D. The Group

posted sales of 47.5 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly

owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai

Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information: www.roche.com.

2/25/11

Source

Roche Diagnostics. New Test for Hepatitis B Provides More Tailored Solutions for

Patients. Press release. February 23, 2011.

[Guest guest]

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_b/news/2011/0225_2010_a.html

New Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Test Helps Assess Treatment Response

SUMMARY: Roche Diagnostics this week announced the launch of a new hepatitis B

surface antigen (HBsAg) test to help clinicians evaluate patient response to

treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Reduction or clearance

of HBsAg is one indicator of good response, along with decreased HBV DNA viral

load.

Below is an edited excerpt from a Roche Diagnostics press release describing the

new test.

New Test for Hepatitis B Provides More Tailored Solutions for Patients

Bangkok -- February 23, 2011 -- The new hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)

quant test enables physicians to assess a patient's response to chronic

hepatitis B treatment

As chronic hepatitis B remains endemic in many parts of Asia, experts from

across the region are meeting at the 21st Asian Pacific Association for the

Study of the Liver (APASL) annual congress in Bangkok, Thailand to discuss

advances in the management of this devastating disease, which is a major cause

of liver cirrhosis and cancer.

One key advance is the availability of a new quantitative test for monitoring a

patient's response to hepatitis B therapy, launched during the congress by Roche

Diagnostics. The test measures the amount of hepatitis B surface antigen

(HBsAg), a marker on the surface of the hepatitis B virus, in a patient's blood.

This, in combination with HBV DNA testing, enables clinicians to provide

tailored treatment approaches for chronic hepatitis B patients.

" Testing is important for the diagnosis and improved management of chronic

hepatitis B. All too often there are either no symptoms until the liver is

severely damaged or the early symptoms are ignored, allowing the disease to

progress untreated with potentially fatal consequences, " said Professor Teerha

Piratvisuth, President of APASL, Director of the NKC Institute of

Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Thailand, and President of Liver Society of

Thailand. " This is a significant problem in Thailand where less than 30 percent

of people with chronic hepatitis B are currently being treated and most do not

even know they are infected. "

Almost a third of the world's population is, at some time, infected with the

hepatitis B virus (HBV) and approximately 350 million people (5%) are currently

chronically infected. In Asia, up to 10 percent of the adult population is

chronically infected with the disease. Every year, 25% to 45% of these HBV

carriers die of HBV-related liver cirrhosis (permanent scarring) or liver

cancer. Liver cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death, particularly

in Asia.

Treatment for chronic hepatitis B aims for complete clearance of the HBsAg in

the patient. Recent data has shown that HBsAg clearance is associated with

reduced disease progression to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, and improved

life expectancy as well as quality of life due to the immune control of the

virus and remission of viral activity.

HBsAg quantitative testing represents a simple and reliable means of assessing

how well the body's own immune system is combating the hepatitis B virus. It

allows clinicians to monitor and assess a patient's response to pegylated

interferon (PEG-IFN) therapy, thereby confidently predict sustained treatment

success early. This is particularly important as studies show that one in three

respond to the PEG-IFN treatment. In addition, there is evidence that HBsAg

levels in combination with HBV DNA levels, can be used to distinguish patients

who do not require therapy (inactive carriers) from those who would benefit from

treatment.

" We now have two complementary tests for monitoring chronic hepatitis B that,

when used in combination, enables us to determine how well a patient is

responding to treatment and to tailor it accordingly " said Professor Henry Chan,

Professor of Medicine, Director of Cheng Suen Man Shook Centre for Hepatitis

Research and Director of Centre for Liver Health of The Chinese University of

Hong Kong. " This is a real advance in the management of chronic hepatitis B as

it enables us to respond quicker than we previously could and, by doing so,

reduce the chance of disease progression. "

Commenting on the advance, Mr. Pichetpong Srisuwankul, General Manager of Roche

Diagnostics Thailand said; " Given the millions of lives affected by hepatitis B

each year, Roche is proud to be able to make a real difference in tackling all

aspects of managing the disease; from initial diagnosis, through to treatment

and ongoing treatment monitoring. Furthermore, this is an area where, once

again, Roche is facilitating healthcare professionals in providing tailored

treatments to individual patients to significantly improve their health and

wellbeing, a demonstration of Roche leading in Personalized Healthcare. "

About the Elecsys HBsAg II Quant Immunoassay

What is the Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay?

The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay is a new test for assessing the amount

of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in chronic hepatitis B patients.

The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay is optimized for clinical decision

making.

What is the role of HBsAg testing?

HBsAg quantitative testing represents a simple and reliable means of assessing

how well the body's own immune system is combating the hepatitis B virus.

With HBsAg quant testing, clinicians can monitor and assess patients' response

to anti-viral therapy. This allows clinicians to predict treatment success early

during pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN) treatment.

Recent data has shown that HBsAg clearance is associated with greatly reduced

liver cancer, liver cirrhosis and improved life expectancy due to the immune

control of the virus and its remission.

Hence, HBsAg testing can also aid in identifying long-term treatment outcomes

in patients.

HBV DNA is currently the most widely used diagnostic test in chronic hepatitis

B patients.

Combined used of HBV DNA and HBsAg quantification tests enable clinicians to

tailor therapy options for optimal treatment outcomes in patients.

There is evidence that HBsAg levels in combination with HBV DNA levels, can be

used to distinguish patients who do not require therapy (inactive carriers) from

those who would benefit from treatment.

What are the advantages of the Elecsys® HBsAg II quant immunoassay?

The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay is optimized for clinical decision making

and has the following advantages:

Enhanced convenience -- The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay has been

optimized to reduce retesting through automated features such as onboard

dilution.

Maximized reliability -- The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay is traceable to

the WHO second international standard for HBsAg and offers accurate and

validated exact results as well as enhanced safety through the onboard dilution

feature. It is also suitable for quantifying HBsAg samples with all major

hepatitis B genotypes.

Excellent precision -- The Elecsys HBsAg II quant immunoassay offers excellent

precision across the entire measure range.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused

healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is

the world's largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in

oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world

leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in

diabetes management. Roche's personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing

medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health,

quality of life and survival of patients. In 2010, Roche had over 80,000

employees worldwide and invested over 9 billion Swiss francs in R & D. The Group

posted sales of 47.5 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly

owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai

Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information: www.roche.com.

2/25/11

Source

Roche Diagnostics. New Test for Hepatitis B Provides More Tailored Solutions for

Patients. Press release. February 23, 2011.