ADALTIS S.r.l. is pleased to announce that it has been granted a license by the China Food and Drug Administration of People’s Republic of China for the importation, marketing and sale in China of its diagnostic kit for hepatitis C (‘EIAgen HCV’), which it identifies by detecting antibodies to the virus using a reliable and cost effective microELISA screening technique.

Initially the local subsidiary in China, will commence targeting hospitals in the Shanghai province and shipments of the first units are expected to commence in H2 2015. Following plans to roll out the sales and marketing efforts to other provinces in China.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus. It is a blood-borne virus and the most common modes of infection are through unsafe injection practices; inadequate sterilization of medical equipment in some healthcare settings; and unscreened blood and blood products. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2014, 130–150 million people globally had chronic hepatitis C infection, with most affected regions being Central and East Asia and North Africa.

ADALTIS S.r.l. is focused on developing compact, high accuracy, cost effective products for small to mid-size laboratories, including advanced genomic solutions that are being introduced to the market. In particular targeting markets where many laboratories are mid-sized and dispersed in different localities – and hence require the solutions provided by Adaltis’ diagnostics products.

Hepatitis C disease currently has no vaccine and it is estimated to kill approximately 350,000 to 500,000 every year. Antiviral medicine can cure the infection, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low because the symptoms are not always obvious. Our ambition is to ensure that the diagnosis of this killer virus, in China and elsewhere, becomes a standard and its prevalence is reduced through proper care and treatment.