Testing Service for Liver Disease

A new clinical testing service, offered by Lab21 (Fareham, UK), uses the noninvasive Fibro Test-ActiTest system for the assessment of liver fibrosis and active liver disease.

This new test can substitute for biopsy by using surrogate markers of liver disease that can be measured by simple blood tests. The test was developed by hepatologists at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital (Paris, France) and BioPredictive (also in Paris). The test was first validated for use with hepatitis C patients. Now many thousands of patients are being clinically managed through use of the test.

In addition to diagnosing hepatitis C, the test has been clinically validated for use in detecting nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatitis B, and alcoholic hepatitis. A combination of six serum biochemical markers plus age and gender data and a patented algorithm determine the degree of liver fibrosis and the level of ongoing necroinflammatory activity.

"Standard blood samples are collected and processed,” explained Berwyn Clarke, chief scientific officer of Lab21. "The results are analyzed using the proprietary algorithm, interpreted, and returned to the physician with a full report in a very short time.”

Lab21 says it has a vision of how technically advanced clinical testing services support the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare providers as healthcare move towards personalized medicine, and how monitoring pollutants and toxins in the environment helps minimize their damaging impact on our health. Rather than developing its own technology, Lab21 is assembling best-in-class tests and technology platforms from specialist partners around the world to offer its customers.





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