Novacyt Launches Molecular HPV Service to its NOVAprep® Customers

Novacyt (ALTERNEXT:ALNOV), an international specialist in cancer and infectious disease diagnostics has launched a molecular HPV (Human papillomavirus) service for all its customers who currently use its next generation NOVAprep^® liquid-based cytology platform for cervical cancer screening.

Novacyt will offer the new service using Abbott’s RealTime High Risk HPV (Human papillomavirus) PCR assay and customers will be able to use the same NOVAprep^® consumable vial and medium for both Novacyt’s cytology platform and for Abbott’s assay.

Novacyt has validated the use of Abbott’s RealTime High Risk HPV (Human papillomavirus) PCR assay with NOVAprep^® cytology medium when used in cervical cancer screening for additional HPV reflex testing. HPV testing provides important information about whether a patient has an HPV infection with any of the 14 high-risk HPV types and this information, along with the result of the PAP smear, can be useful in managing patients with inconclusive results.

Clinical labs and hospitals that are using the NOVAprep^® system will be able to use the same patient sample prepared in the innovative vial NOVAprep^® and stored in NOVACYT medium for Abbott’s HPV test. The patient sample will be sent to the molecular testing facility of Novacyt based in Cambridge, UK and the results from this service will be provided back to clinicians quickly and efficiently.

Validation of the NOVAprep^® vial medium with the Abbott HPV assay has demonstrated strong performances in terms of sensitivity and stability of the patient samples compared to other competitor products. Novacyt plans to publish its findings later this year.

Dr. Alexandre Chollat-Namy, Head of the Department of Pathological Anatomy and Cytology at the Saint Joseph Hospital in Marseille, France commented, "We have been a long term customer of Novacyt with its innovative NOVAprep^® platform and we are delighted to be one of the first customers to benefit from Novacyt’s new HPV service too. We are impressed with the quality and turn-around from the Cambridge laboratory which enables us to provide an even better service for cervical cancer screening of our patients.”

Graham Mullis, Group CEO of Novacyt, commented, "The launch of our HPV service alongside our cytology NOVAprep^® platform demonstrates another significant synergy between the molecular capability of Lab21 and Novacyt’s cytology technology. Being able to provide our customers with a full solution for their cytology and HPV requirements will benefit patients and clinicians and is expected in time to contribute significant new revenue streams to the Group.”

Novacyt expects to launch the HPV service initially in France and the UK and will then make the service available to non-NOVAprep^® customers as well as its international customers during the second half of the year.

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