Rocleix Testing Begins In England
December 10 2003 - 2:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Rocleix Testing Begins In England EMERYVILLE, CA, December 10
/PRNewswire/ -- -- 850,000 units to be tested annually with Chiron
Nucleic Acid Test-- EMERYVILLE, CA, December 10th, 2003- Chiron
Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIR) announced today that the National Blood
Service in England has begun Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) at its
Brentwood site with the company's Procleix(r) HIV-1/HCV Assay. The
Assay is expected to test about one third of the 2.6 million units
of blood annually tested in England "The start of Procleix testing
in England underscores Chiron's commitment to expand its expertise
in blood safety to new geographies," said Jack Goldstein,
president, Chiron Blood Testing. "We are pleased to be able to help
the National Blood Service meet its needs and look forward to
working with the agency to help ensure the safety of the UK's blood
supply." "Assuring the security of the blood supply in England is
our top priority and, wherever possible we try to avoid being
dependent on a single system or supplier," said Richard Bedford,
Assistant Director, National Blood Service. "Modifying our NAT HCV
screening system to include the Chiron Procleix System to test one
third of our donated blood, represents a significant step forward
for us." The Procleix Assay was developed [MJW1] with Gen-Probe
Incorporated to detect the presence of all known HIV-1 groups and
subtypes and all known hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes in human
plasma during the very early stages of infection, when those agents
are present but cannot be detected by immunodiagnostic tests. It
has been shown that the introduction of NAT testing can close the
window period (the time from infection to detection) by as much as
10 days for HIV-1 and by as much as 60 days for HCV. Amplified
nucleic acid testing (NAT) is a highly sensitive method of
detecting infectious organisms in donated blood, thereby improving
the safety of the world's blood supply. NAT is used worldwide and
is mandated by many European national health authorities to screen
blood donations for HIV-1 and HCV. About Procleix Procleix Assays
and Systems incorporate state-of-the-art NAT technology to detect
viral RNA and DNA in donated blood and plasma during the very early
stages of infection, when these infectious agents are present but
cannot be detected by immunodiagnostic tests. The Procleix
HIV-1/HCV Assay, developed in collaboration with Gen-Probe, has
been commercially available in Europe since 1999 and also bears the
CE Mark. The Procleix HIV-1/HCV Assay is approved for use in the
United States, Australia and major markets in Europe. The Procleix
Ultrio Assay, which detects HIV-1, HCV and HBV in a single test,
will be commercially available in Europe in early 2004. For more
information about Chiron Blood Testing visit, www.eBloodBank.com.
About Chiron Corporation Chiron Corporation, headquartered in
Emeryville, California, is a global pharmaceutical company that
leverages a diverse business model to develop and commercialize
high-value products that make a difference in people's lives. The
company has a strategic focus on cancer and infectious disease.
Chiron applies its advanced understanding of the biology of cancer
and infectious disease to develop products from its platforms in
proteins, small molecules and vaccines. The company commercializes
its products through three business units: biopharmaceuticals,
vaccines and blood testing. For more information about Chiron,
visit the company's website at www.chiron.com. This news release
contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding
sales growth, product development initiatives and new product
marketing that involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to
change. A full discussion of the company's operations and financial
condition, including factors that may affect its business and
future prospects, is contained in documents the company has filed
with the SEC, including the form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2003, and the form 10-K for year ended December 31,
2002, and will be contained in all subsequent periodic filings made
with the SEC. These documents identify important factors that could
cause the company's actual performance to differ from current
expectations, including the outcomes of clinical trials, regulatory
review and approvals, manufacturing capabilities, intellectual
property protections and defenses, stock-price and interest-rate
volatility, and marketing effectiveness. In particular, there can
be no assurance that Chiron will increase sales of existing
products, successfully develop and receive approval to market new
products, or achieve market acceptance for such new products. There
can be no assurance that Chiron's out-licensing activity will
generate significant revenue, nor that its in-licensing activities
will fully protect it from claims of infringement by third parties.
Consistent with SEC Regulation FD, we do not undertake an
obligation to update the forward-looking information we are giving
today. Note: Procleix and Ultrio are trademarks of Chiron
Corporation. DATASOURCE: Capital MS&L Ltd Contacts: Chiron
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Media: +1
510.923.6500 Investors: +1 510.923.2300 Mary Clark, Director,
Manning, Selvage & Lee EU Media: +44 (0) 20.7878.3245
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