Roche has announced that the HPV test for use on the cobas 6800/8800 systems has been awarded World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification. WHO prequalification expands the availability of this critical HPV screening tool in countries that rely on the global organisation’s list in making purchasing and implementation decisions.
Screening for human papillomavirus (HPV) can help identify women who are at risk of developing cervical cancer, so that the disease can be treated early, before invasive cancer has a chance to develop. In poorer countries, women are often diagnosed with cervical cancer at a more advanced stage, where the opportunity for a cure is low.
“The elimination of cervical cancer is within reach. Roche is committed to working with governments, non-profit organisations and funders to help build sustainable cervical cancer elimination programs so that women, no matter where in the world they live, no longer die from this preventable disease,” said Matt Sause, CEO of Roche Diagnostics. “Today’s action, combined with our recently launched HPV-self sampling solution, further expands access to HPV screening in countries with limited healthcare resources.”
The WHO strategy for global elimination of cervical cancer lists the following three target goals to reach by 20302:
- 90% of girls should be fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by 15 years of age
- 70% of women should be screened using a high-performance test by age 35, and again by age 45
- 90% of those identified with cervical disease should receive appropriate treatment.
The cobas HPV test is already part of the Roche Global Access Program, which aims to improve access to cost-effective resources, implement scale-up programs, and contribute to the elimination of diseases in the regions with the greatest need. WHO prequalification helps expand that access and provides healthcare professionals with greater confidence that their clinical decisions will be based on accurate, reliable results.
In 2014, Roche first launched its Global Access Program to support the UNAIDS 2020 targets to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since then, the programme was expanded to include solutions for other high-burden diseases such as Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and C, and cervical cancer. Most recently, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 test was included into the program.
The continual expansion of test offerings highlights Roche's commitment to eliminate cervical cancer and other high burden infectious diseases for patients living in resource-constrained settings with limited access.
Any laboratory that implements a Roche instrument system gains the ability to scale up testing across multiple disease areas, thus improving cost and resource efficiency. An integrated approach supports national programs focused on increasing access to diagnostic testing, to help manage or reduce the impact of preventable disease for patients.
The cobas HPV test is indicated for use for routine cervical cancer screening as per professional medical guidelines, including HPV primary screening, co-testing (or adjunctive screen) with cytology, and for triage of women with abnormal cytology, to assess the risk for cervical precancer and cancer. The cobas HPV test detects the high-risk HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, and 68.
In June 2022, Roche further improved access for women when it launched an HPV self-sampling solution in countries accepting the CE mark. The solution enables a patient to privately and confidently collect her own sample following instruction from a healthcare worker. The clinically-validated vaginal sample is then analysed with the Roche cobas HPV test on a Roche molecular instrument.
