Bayer Unit Gets FDA Hepatitis Test OK

On Monday, the diagnostics division of Bayer AG announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two of its automated hepatitis B tests. Bayer's Healthcare Diagnostics division said the first test detects the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the blood, and the second test confirms the results to diagnose acute or chronic HBV infection. The approval gives Bayer eight unique types of hepatitis tests that can be used on the company's ADVIA Centaur automatic testing machine. Bayer now has a complete testing panel for hepatitis types A, B, and C, the company noted. HBV is the most common and serious of all liver infections. Infecting an estimated 2 billion people worldwide, HBV and its complications claim the lives of 1 million each year, said Bayer.

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