Roche Seeks Fast-Track US Approval of Ebola Diagnostic Test

A rapid diagnostic test for Ebola has been developed by Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche and hopes to obtain fast-track US approval for it. The company’s director general declared this in an interview published Sunday, amid the worst-ever outbreak of the killer disease.

The diagnostic test is ready for use in scientific research but the company now wants to register it for clinical use.

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Roche has filed for European Union approval of the test and plans shortly to do the same with US health authorities, CEO Severin Schwan told the Swiss German SonntagsZeitung newspaper.

"We hope that they will grant us an accelerated authorization procedure," Schwan said.

More than 10,000 people have contracted the Ebola virus, according to the latest World Health Organization figures, mainly in the west African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

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Ebola is caused by a virus via direct contact with body fluids or infected blood. Scientists have identified five types of Ebola or Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus.

More than 4,900 people have died of the hemorrhagic virus, according to the figures from October 23.

Source-AFP

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