Clinical trial NCT04236973: Truenat™ HCV RNA Assay Evaluation
Official title: Multicentre Clinical Performance Evaluation of the Molbio Diagnostics Truenat™ HCV RNA Assay
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Hepatitis C
Lead sponsor: Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Switzerland
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2020-01-22
Enrollment: 1330
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 16
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose: DIAGNOSTIC

Brief summary: Molbio Diagnostics Ltd. (India) has developed the Truelab™ Real Time quantitative PCR system that is widely used in India for diagnostics of tuberculosis (TB). The system consists of two portable machines and two microfluidic cartridges and can be used in point-of-care settings. The manufacturer has recently developed a new assay that detects HCV RNA, the Truenat™ HCV RNA assay. It is a simple two-step assay for RNA extraction and amplification with a total turnaround time of 60 min, using whole blood, plasma and serum as sample types. Most importantly, the assay can be performed from a drop of capillary blood eliminating the need for venous access and blood draw and increasing its usability in the settings where phlebotomy service are not available. To date, validation of the assay was performed using archived plasma specimens and contrived whole blood specimens. FIND aims to conduct a multicentre evaluation to assess the assay's sensitivity, specificity and quantitative accuracy in freshly collected whole blood, plasma and serum specimens from target populations. The evaluation aims to gather performance data in line with the requirements set forth in the Common Technical Specifications 2009/886/EC (CTS) of the CE In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Devices Directive 98/79/CE (CE-IVDD), as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Specification Series 10 (draft) (TSS-10) for In vitro diagnostic (IVDs) medical devices used for the qualitative and quantitative detection of HCV RNA.

Detailed description: Even though hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can now be cured, globally, fewer than 20% of the 71 million living with HCV are aware of their status; diagnosis remains a major challenge. While serology screening tests that detect the presence of antibodies against HCV, can be performed in decentralized settings, these tests cannot distinguish between resolved (about 25% of seropositive cases) and active infection. Therefore, positive serology test results require further confirmation by laboratory-based methods that detects the viral particle. The two-step testing process results in high drop-off in confirmatory testing among HCV seropositive individuals, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where laboratory infrastructure is lacking. Providing access to confirmatory testing in decentralized settings has a high potential to increase the coverage of HCV testing services in LMIC.

Molbio Diagnostics Ltd. (India) has developed the Truelab™ Real Time quantitative PCR system that is widely used in India for diagnostics of tuberculosis (TB). The system consists of two portable machines and two microfluidic cartridges and can be used in point-of-care settings. The manufacturer has recently developed a new assay that detects HCV RNA, the Truenat™ HCV RNA assay. It is a simple two-step assay for RNA extraction and amplification with a total turnaround time of 60 min, using whole blood, plasma and serum as sample types. Most importantly, the assay can be performed from a drop of capillary blood eliminating the need for venous access and blood draw and increasing its usability in the settings where phlebotomy service are not available. To date, validation of the assay was performed using archived plasma specimens and contrived whole blood specimens. FIND aims to conduct a multicentre evaluation to assess the assay's sensitivity, specificity and quantitative accuracy in freshly collected whole blood, plasma and serum specimens from target populations. The evaluation aims to gather performance data in line with the requirements set forth in the Common Technical Specifications 2009/886/EC (CTS) of the CE In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Devices Directive 98/79/CE (CE-IVDD), as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Specification Series 10 (draft) (TSS-10) for In vitro diagnostic (IVDs) medical devices used for the qualitative and quantitative detection of HCV RNA. The data will be published as a peer-reviewed report and made available to the test manufacturer to support regulatory submissions.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Individuals reached the age of an adult as defined in the country that are able to understand the scope of the study and provide informed consent will be invited to take part in the study. In order to meet the study objectives, four different population groups will be considered:

1. HCV SEROPOS: Individuals at risk of having HCV infection based on positive HCV serology test results, without history of HCV treatment

   Inclusion criterion:

   • Documented positive result of HCV serology test
2. HCV RISK: Individuals with unknown serology status at risk of HCV infection based on past and/or current exposure to risk factors

   Inclusion criterion:

   • Past and/or current exposure to one of the high risk factors as defined by WHO and CDC guidelines (Appendix 1)
3. HCV TREAT: Individuals diagnosed with chronic HCV infection who initiated or completed the anti-HCV treatment with direct acting antivirals (DAA) presenting at the clinical site for treatment monitoring or test of cure (i.e. sustained virological response)

   Inclusion criterion:

   • Initiated on DAA treatment (regardless of type of DAA regimen) within 12 months prior to the enrolment to the study
4. BLOOD DONORS: Healthy blood donors free of HBV, HCV and HIV infections, as determined by standard blood bank protocols

Exclusion Criteria:

Exclusion criteria (for all study populations):

* Previously enrolled in the study
* Unwilling or unable to provide required volume of fingerstick blood
* Unwilling or unable to provide required volume of venous whole blood

Exclusion criterion for BLOOD DONORS:

• Positive results in HBV, HCV and HIV tests routinely used in the blood bank to assess blood products safety

Primary outcomes:
measure: Point estimates of clinical sensitivity and specificity
timeFrame: From day 1 (enrolment) up to day 30 (completion of the reference testing)
measure: Accuracy of quantification of HCV viral load level in fingerstick blood and plasma by the Truenat™ HCV assay
timeFrame: From day 1 (enrolment) up to day 30 (completion of the reference testing)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Level of agreement between result outputs of the Truenat™ HCV assay performed from different specimens.
timeFrame: From day 1 (enrolment) up to day 30 (completion of the reference testing)
measure: Accuracy of quantification of HCV viral load levels in serum and venous whole blood specimens by the Truenat™ HCV assay
timeFrame: From day 1 (enrolment) up to day 30 (completion of the reference testing)
measure: Operational usability of the Truenat HCV assay
timeFrame: From the enrolment of the first participant to the completion of all study procedures for the last enrolled participant and up to 12 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Aarhus
country: Denmark
facility: Aarhus University Hospital
city: Addis Ababa
country: Ethiopia
facility: St Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College
city: Tbilisi
country: Georgia
facility: National Centre for Diseases Control
city: Bangkok
country: Thailand
facility: HIV-NAT Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre
city: Kyiv
country: Ukraine
facility: International Charitable Foundation Alliance for Public Health
Study officials:
affiliation: Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics
name: Elena Ivanova, MD, PhD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References: