Virologists from clinical labs throughout the UK and Ireland converged on Britain's foremost opera and ballet venue to share their knowledge and experience and hear a series of topical presentations
London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, provided a rich cultural backdrop for proceedings at the recent Molecular User Group Meeting staged by Bayer Diagnostics (a division of Bayer HealthCare) for users of its molecular diagnostics systems.
Virologists from clinical laboratories throughout the UK and Ireland converged on Britain's foremost opera and ballet venue to share their knowledge and experiences with other system users and hear a series of topical presentations from keynote speakers.
First held in 2001, this annual Bayer meeting has been attracting increasing numbers of delegates year on year.
The 2005 event was attended by packed audience of clinical virologists and other healthcare professionals who heard presentations on the latest developments in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human papilloma virus (HPV) testing and the future for molecular diagnostics.
The meeting was chaired by Siobhan O'Shea, principal virologist from Guys and St Thomas's Hospital, who co-ordinated the presentations agenda and helped to stimulate lively discussion on the topics covered.
In her opening address, O'Shea commented on the speed at which clinical virology has moved forward in the past five years, particularly in the field of molecular diagnostics.
This observation was strongly reflected by five guest speakers.
Mark Atkins, consultant virologist at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, described the vital role played by laboratories in the management of HIV infected individuals and how this, complemented by availability of today's wide range of anti-retroviral drugs, now offers HIV patients a realistic option of having a near-normal lifespan.
David Dunn from the HIV division of the Medical Research Centre Clinical Trials Unit then described trends which have been identified using data from the UK HIV drug resistance database that was first established in 2001, revealing that there is an increasing number of patients with viral resistance to all three major HIV drug classes.
Heather Cubie, consultant clinical scientist at the Specialist Virology Centre in Edinburgh, addressed delegates on the potential role of HPV testing in the diagnosis and management of cervical cancer, welcoming the trend towards closer collaboration between cytologists and virologists in this area.
This was followed by a presentation on current and future trends in molecular diagnostics by Pangiotis Pantelidis of the Pan Pathology Molecular Diagnostics facility at Guys and St Thomas's Hospital, who foresaw that entire laboratories will one day be contained in a single chip, with all patient testing being performed at the point of care.
Inside the famous Crush Room at the Royal Opera House, delegates had the opportunity to preview Bayer's latest branched DNA (bDNA) analyser - the Versant 440 molecular system - which is due for launch in 2006.
To date bDNA technology has demonstrated proven productivity and reliability and eliminates nucleic acid extraction steps associated with PCR methods and the risk of contamination.
The new Versant 440 molecular system offers laboratories improved workflow facilitated by total flexibility, enabling runs to be initiated at any time during working periods and the ability to run the system over the weekend unattended.
The Versant 440 completely automates bDNA, HIV, HCV and HBV assays.
In a presentation by Adrian Ralph, Bayer's sales director for the UK and Ireland, about the future strategic direction of Bayer Molecular, delegates learned about Bayer's intention to continue investing in proprietary bDNA, Trugene and LiPA technologies, to develop a competitive kinetic PCR (kPCR) system and also to invest in the development of genomic biomarkers for use in oncology, cardiovascular, psychiatric and inherited diseases.
Following these presentations, delegates enjoyed a backstage tour of the Opera House and a champagne reception.
