Press Releases
***MEDIA ALERT***
Important Milestone Reached for West Nile Virus Testing of Donated Blood
Key Chiron software cleared by FDA
After several cases of transmission of the West Nile virus were linked to blood transfusions last year, the federal government called on makers of blood screening technologies to create a test that could effectively screen donated blood for the virus. The vast majority of West Nile virus cases in 2002 occurred after July 1, the date that the FDA is targeting this year to have a test in place.
Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics is one step closer to meeting this deadline following the May 23rd FDA clearance of NAT TRACKER 2.0, the first software developed specifically to track results of West Nile virus testing. Chiron developed the software for use on its PROCLEIX® System, a nucleic acid test (NAT) technology, made available by Chiron Blood Testing and its collaborator Gen-Probe. The FDA approved PROCLEIX last year for screening donated blood for HIV-1 and hepatitis C, and it is now used to screen more than 80 percent of U.S. blood donations for these diseases. The new software is already installed in all sites using the earlier version that tracks HIV-1 and hepatitis C results.
Having the software in place clears a major hurdle to having a West Nile virus test available by the July 1 deadline, which Chiron is confident will happen.
If you are writing or plan to write a story on West Nile virus, we have experts available to discuss the importance of an effective blood screening tool and the government-industry cooperation that made it possible.
###