Fujirebio Europe launches Lumipulse® G HTLV-I/II for fully automated screening of HTLV-I/II viral infection

"I'm proud to say that our Lumipulse G HTLV-I/II assay exhibits both a sensitivity and a specificity sufficient to place it among the best HTLV assays available today”, said Christiaan De Wilde, CEO of Fujirebio Europe.  “The cost-effective and convenient cartridge format of the test further adds to its appeal."
 

About HTLV*
Human T-lymphotropic viruses, type I (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II), were the first human retroviruses discovered. HTLV-I and HTLV-II are closely related but distinct retroviruses that can infect humans.
HTLV-I is known to cause a type of cancer, referred to as adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma, and a demyelinating disease called HTLV-I associated myelopathy/Tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP).

HTLV-II has been associated with rare lymphoproliferative diseases and neurodegenerative disorders, although its etiological role remains to be fully established. It is estimated that 15-20 million people are currently infected with HTLV-I worldwide. HTLV-I is endemic in the Caribbean, Japan, South America, and parts of Africa. HTLV-II is found among Native Americans and injection drug users in many cities of Western Europe and North America.

Transmission of both HTLV I and II occurs through sexual contact, exposure to blood, transfusion of infected cellular blood components and perinatal, probably by breast feeding. The screening of antibodies against HTLV-I/II is an aid in the diagnosis of HTLV infection and is aimed at curbing the risk of transmitting the infection.
 

About Fujirebio
Fujirebio is a leading international healthcare company with a strong focus on high quality in vitro diagnostics (IVD) testing solutions. Founded more than 60 years ago in Japan, the company is today recognized as the world-wide market leader in oncology for both routine and novel markers and has a strong reputation in Japan in infectious disease testing in hospitals, clinical labs and blood banks. Over the last 20 years Fujirebio has been committed to bringing solid and successful automated immunoassay testing solutions and state of the art chemiluminescent assay products to the market. Under the name Innogenetics (now Fujirebio Europe) the company has also been pioneering the field of molecular diagnostics and multiparameter testing. The company is today one of the world leaders in strip-based diagnostics solutions.

The product lines range from specialized manual testing to fully automated routine testing and they cover disease fields such as infectious, oncology, genetic testing, thyroid, fertility, tissue typing, neurodegeneration and bone metabolism.

Fujirebio is a subsidiary of Japan-based Miraca Holdings (listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange - MRCHF) and counts more than 1.100 employees working in Asia, Europe and America, including subsidiaries. For more information about Fujirebio please visit www.fujirebio.com/english or www.fujirebio-europe.com.

The product mentioned in this press release might not be available in the USA and in Canada. Please contact us for further information.

* www.cdc.gov