Third Wave begins trial of HPV diagnostics

US diagnostics firm Third Wave Technologies says that a clinical trial for its two human papillomavirus products is underway and the company says it continues to anticipate submitting the applications for approval of those products to the US Food and Drug Administration in 2007.

Clinical trial site initiations and the enrollment of women for the study began in late July and more than 20 sites have been qualified to date. Arthur Waldbaum, president of Downtown Women's Health Care in Denver, USA, one of the clinical sites participating in the trial, noted that "the clinical trial design we are using is well constructed and straightforward, fitting very nicely within our normal procedures for screening women for cervical cancer.

According to Third Wave, the global market for HPV testing is approximately $150.0 million and growing at more than 30% a year. The firm recently announced that, in 2007, it will extend its product range into the chlamydia and gonorrhea tests market, which is worth $200.0 million.