The REACH study will focus on people undergoing opiate substitute therapy, a patient population traditionally resistant to travel, suggesting a ‘Test and Treat’ outreach-based diagnostic and treatment pathways could provide an effective solution to the HCV epidemic in this population. The study will determine if more HCV RNA positive people can be treated and cured, and will also examine whether the REACH pathway is more cost-effective than the conventional pathway, from the perspective of the NHS (UK) and Medicare (Australia). The study is anticipated to enroll approximately 140 patients over its two years.
David Budd, Chief Executive Officer of genedrive plc, said: “The advancement of molecular diagnostics to the point of need will provide faster treatment decisions to patients who have difficulty accessing traditional centralised services. We see the requirement for Test and Treat outside of centralised services as a common theme across our menu targets. We are very pleased to be working with Professor Dillon in further proving the cost effectiveness and clinical benefits of Genedrive® HCV-ID in another near patient setting.”
Professor John Dillon of University of Dundee, comments: “I am delighted that this study is now starting. It is vital that if we are to eliminate HCV, we must find novel ways of using paradigm shifting technology like Genedrive HCV-ID in care pathways, to bring cure of HCV to the people who need it most.”
