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Blood tests for the hepatitis C virus could cost Britain’s transfusion
service an extra £500 000 extra a year if a lawsuit by two American
companies proves successful.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects less than one person in a hundred in
Britain. But because the disease is passed from person to person by blood,
the National Blood Transfusion Service tests all donated blood for it. The
virus can cause cirrhosis of the liver and may be linked with liver cancer.
Last year, the service estimated that the cost of screening blood for HCV
could approach £8.5 million a year.

Now two American companies, Chiron and Ortho Diagnostic Systems, are
suing a British rival, Organon Teknika of Cambridge, for selling a test
for HCV. Ortho and Chiron believe Organon’s test uses technology covered
by the patent for their own test. The partners are also taking action against
the owners of Wellcome Diagnostics, UK, which makes another test for HCV.

Chiron and Ortho charge £3 for their test, whereas Organon’s
costs £2.81. The NHS gets discounts on these list prices but will
not say how much because of ‘commercial confidentiality’. If Chiron and
Ortho win, the transfusion service might have to find another £500
000 a year.

Chiron says its patent includes all of HCV’s proteins, no matter how
they are made, all antibodies to the virus and all DNA probes for it. It
also covers any vaccines or other products that contain proteins from the
virus, and the use of any of these proteins and antibodies for tests.

Edward Penhoet, Chiron’s chief executive, says the enforcement of this
‘strong’ patent will enable the two companies to continue ‘investments in
medical research that will benefit hundreds of thousandsof people’. Stephen
Jacques, of Organon Teknika, says: ‘We won’t discuss the legal proceedings
with anyone at this stage.’

In some developing countries, HCV is much more widespread than in Britain.
Most of these countries are hard pressedto afford even HIV tests, which
use similar technology to the HCV tests butcost about £1 each.