cobas 8800 is now being used at the Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) Center for Esoteric Testing in Burlington, North Carolina. According to a Roche statement, the system automates the entire molecular diagnostics process and is the first high-throughput molecular system approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for moderately complex testing as per Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA).
LabCorp is initially using the system for hepatitis C viral load testing but plans to add testing for HIV and hepatitis B virus in the near future. As the Roche system enables significant workflow efficiencies, LabCorp expects to be able to consolidate its virology testing on a smaller number of automated platforms while increasing its testing capacity.
“LabCorp is pleased to be the initial US site to deploy this innovative system in support of our mission to improve health and lives through world-class diagnostics,” said Marcia Eisenberg, chief scientific officer at LabCorp.
“The quality and efficiency gains that moderate complexity testing with full automation offers can be transformational for labs doing molecular testing,” said Whitney Green, senior vice president of commercial operations at Roche Diagnostics.
