Chiron sales and marketing update

The American Red Cross signed a three-year contract, starting next March 1, to purchase exclusively from the CHIR/Ortho Diagnostic Systems Inc. joint venture four of the five mandated blood virus Elisa screening tests. The Red Cross collects about half of the units of whole blood donated annually in the U.S.

The four tests are to screen for hepatitis C virus antibodies, hepatitis B virus surface antigen, hepatitis B virus core antibodies and antibodies to the HTLV-1 leukemia virus. The joint business will also supply the Red Cross with a series of confirmatory tests, including the RIBA HCV test. ...