EMERYVILLE, Calif., March 15 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Blood Transfusion of Infectious Diseases is Issue of National Concern
Chiron Corporation (Nasdaq: CHIR) announced today that Chiron Blood Testing President Jack Goldstein will participate in an international panel of speakers at this year's National Blood Centre Annual Scientific Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, March 14-16. Dr. Goldstein will focus on the changing needs of the transfusion medicine community and how Chiron is addressing them. As an industry leader, Chiron is actively investigating potential responses for the detection of vCJD (mad cow disease), bacterial detection in platelets, enzyme conversion of red blood cells to universal group O, as well as conducting research activities into the next decade.
Transmission of infectious diseases, especially HIV, has been a major focus of public policy in Thailand and through the use of active prevention programs the country has achieved substantial reduction in new HIV infections. It is also only one of two countries in Southeast Asia that screen donated blood for HIV using nucleic acid testing (NAT), the most sophisticated and sensitive blood screening technology available to prevent transfusion transmission of disease. Using Chiron's Procleix(R) System, the Thai Red Cross has performed more than 20,000 tests on donated blood to detect HIV-1 as well as hepatitis C (HCV) since the inception of testing in June 2003.
The Procleix(R) HIV-1/HCV NAT Assay incorporates state-of-the-art Transcription-Mediated Amplification (TMA) technology to directly detect HIV-1 and HCV in donated blood and plasma during the very early stages of infection when these infectious agents are present but cannot be detected by standard screening technologies.
The National Blood Centre meeting will also celebrate the 72nd birthday of H.M. the Queen, President of the Thai Red Cross Society and will be attended by H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorm, Executive Vice-President and Chairman of the Thai Red Cross Society.
About Chiron Blood Testing
Chiron Blood Testing is dedicated to preventing the spread of infectious diseases through the development of novel blood-screening tools that protect the world's blood supply. The Procleix HIV-1/HCV Assay, developed in collaboration with Gen-Probe Incorporated, is a highly sensitive nucleic acid test (NAT) that incorporates state-of-the-art technology to detect human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). The company is also developing new assays to further protect the blood supply.
The Procleix HIV-1/HCV Assay, developed in collaboration with Gen-Probe Incorporated, has been commercially available in Europe since 1999 and is approved for use in the United States and in sixteen other European and Asia Pacific countries. The Procleix(R) Ultrio(TM) Assay, which detects HIV-1, HCV and HBV in a single test, is commercially available outside the U.S. For more information about Chiron Blood Testing visit, www.eBloodBank.com
SOURCE: Chiron Corporation
CONTACT: Chiron Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
media +1-510-923-6500 or investors +1-510-923-2300
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