Lab21 has announced the addition of a diagnostic test for HIV to its portfolio of companion diagnostic services.
Lab21 said it will be the first commercial reference laboratory in the UK to provide a companion diagnostic service for the HIV drug, Celsentri, marketed by Viiv Healthcare, which is currently supporting the provision of this genotypic tropism testing to the NHS in the UK.
Lab21 will offer the HIV service from its UK operation with immediate effect and will be able to receive samples from all parts of the world.
The company also plans to offer the test as part of its HIV service at its US facility in Greenville, South Carolina.
The HIV diagnostic is a genotypic test that determines the sequence of a specific region of the virus, the V3 loop.
This information helps to determine the specific cell type the strain of HIV will infect and replicate.
As individual drugs are only effective against specific strains of HIV, this allows clinicians to identify the most effective treatment, improving patient care and reducing costs.
