First-Ever Program in the Country to Offer
At-Home Self-Collection of Samples for HPV Testing
SINGAPORE, Feb. 21,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and
Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company,
today announced a strategic partnership with Camtech Health, a
digital health company focused on at-home health testing, to
advance cervical cancer screening by offering the first-ever option
for women in Singapore to
self-collect a sample in the privacy of their own home.
The program combines the Camtech Health HPV (human
papillomavirus) test for self-collection with the BD Onclarity™ HPV
Assay, which is a clinically validated test that can simultaneously
detect 14 high-risk HPV strains (or "genotypes"). The program
objective is to improve the rate of cervical cancer screening in
Singapore, where less than half of
eligible women are currently being tested.
"For women in Singapore, lack
of time, embarrassment, fear and inconvenience are among the key
barriers to screeningi, and before now, Singapore only offered HPV testing via
hospital or clinic settings with a speculum examination and a
clinician collection," stated Dr. Jeff
Andrews, vice president of Global Medical Affairs at BD.
"Cervical cancer is preventable, precancer is curable, and programs
like this help to support the national goal of cervical cancer
elimination. Not only does self-collection afford women greater
access to HPV testing by enabling them to collect a sample in
privacy at a time and place of their choosing, but they can also
feel confident that the reliability of self-collected samples is
comparable to those collected by a
clinicianii."
In late 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched its
Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer,
recognizing the potential to virtually eliminate cervical cancer as
a public health threat, recognizing the potential to eliminate
cervical cancer in our lifetimeiii. The strategy
established clear targets to achieve by 2030 for HPV
vaccination coverage (>90%), screening coverage (>70%) and
access to treatment (>90%).
At-home collection can help address the urgent public health
challenge of reaching women who do not attend routine cervical
cancer screening.
- Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among
women globally, with an estimated 604,000 new cases and 342,000
deaths in 2020.iv
- Almost all cervical cancer cases (more than 95%) are caused
by a persistent HPV infection, an extremely common virus
transmitted through sexual contact.i
- In Singapore, cervical cancer
ranks as the 10th most frequent cancer among women and the 4th most
frequent cancer among women between 30 and 39 years of
age.v
- Cervical cancer screening among all women in Singapore aged 25 – 74 decreased by 17%
between 2007 and 2019; from 58% to 48%.vi
- Among those aged 25-29, the decline has been more
precipitous—from nearly 50% in 2007 to only 21% in
2019.v
"Making at-home self-collection available is the first step to
empowering health and well-being, but making the test easy to use
is just as important," said Kuok
Meng-Han, Chairman of Camtech Health. "The Camtech
Health HPV test with the Camtech Health app is completed in
simple steps and then sent via postage-paid packaging provided in
the kit. The sample is analyzed using the BD Onclarity™ HPV assay,
and the BD Viper™ LT fully automated integrated molecular testing
system, and physician-reviewed results are provided on the app with
a virtual consultation to discuss any abnormalities."
HPVs are a large group of related viruses. Each virus in the
group is given a number, which is called an HPV
genotypevii (or "type"). BD Onclarity™ is the only
FDA-approved assay that tests for an extended set of HPV types
individually, and particularly for HPV52 and HPV33/58, three HPV
types that pose a high-risk for causing cervical cancer in
Singapore. Most clinically
validated tests report multiple HPV types in a single pooled
result, which can mask the true risk of developing cervical cancer.
Being able to identify the high-risk genotypes that are prevalent
in cervical cancers in the country is critical to the detection and
prevention of cervical cancer.
"Providing women the ability to self-collect in the convenience
of their own home is critical to improving their access to cervical
cancer screening, and empowering women to take charge of their own
health, especially among underserved communities in Singapore who might be deterred from seeking
healthcare," said Dr. Ida
Ismail-Pratt, Advisor of the Alliance for Active Action
against HPV (A4HPV), a youth-led non-profit committed to increasing
awareness about HPV and its related cancers, by working on
effective strategies for equitable and affordable cervical cancer
screening access across the Commonwealth. "With less than 50% of
women in Singapore regularly
screening for cervical cancer, it is heartening that this
self-collection option is finally available in Singapore for the first time. We hope that
this additional option will help Singapore to reach the WHO's cervical cancer
screening goal of 70% by 2030, and truly leaving no one
behind.''
Combining HPV self-collection with an assay that individually
identified more kinds of HPV allows clinicians to focus on those
women at highest risk while not overtreating those at very low risk
by allowing risk stratification directly on the screening
sampleVI. The BD Onclarity™ HPV Assay received the
industry's first CE Mark for HPV screening from at-home
self-collected vaginal samples.
Camtech Health is a digital health company that is focused on
empowering people across Singapore
and Southeast Asia to take control
of their health and well-being and lead healthier and fuller lives.
Camtech does this by integrating multiple disciplines to deliver a
seamless sample-to-insight testing experience using home
self-collection test kits – all in the convenience and comfort of
their own home. For more information or to order the Camtech Health
HPV Test, please visit www.camtech-health.com/health-tests or
download the Camtech Health App (available on iOS and Android). The
home self-collection kits are also available through SOG Health, a
leading healthcare service provider dedicated to holistic health
and wellness services to the modern family with a long and
established track record in Singapore providing Obstetrics and Gynecology
services. https://www.sog.com.sg/about-sog/
About BD Onclarity™ HPV Assay
The BD Onclarity™ HPV
Assay detects and identifies 14 high-risk human papillomavirus
(HPV) types in a single analysis and provides genotyping
information from specimens collected for cervical cancer screening
purposes using both BD SurePath™ Preservative Fluid and
Hologic PreservCyt® Solution, as well as in the Cervical Brush
Diluent tube (not approved in the United
States). The assay is for use in accordance with clinical
guidelines and within the scope of local regulatory authorizations
as part of a comprehensive approach to cervical cancer screening.
The BD Onclarity™ HPV Assay has FDA approval for clinical use in
cytology-based screening with ASC-US triage, in co-testing
paradigm, and in primary HPV screening. The assay has also met
international criteria for primary HPV screening. BD Onclarity™ HPV
Assay has FDA approval for use in vaccinated women. As the
previously vaccinated subpopulation ages, the screening population
will progressively include women with reduced prevalence of HPV 16
and 18, increasing the value of extended genotype reporting in a
mixed population of vaccinated and unvaccinated women. Visit
bd.com and pages.bd.com/extended-genotyping to learn
more.
About BD
BD is one of the largest global medical
technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of
health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery
of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of
health care by developing innovative technology, services and
solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and
clinical process for health care providers. BD and its more than
70,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the
safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable
laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance
researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of
diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every
country and partners with organizations around the world to address
some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in
close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes,
lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand
access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit
bd.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/company/bd1/, X (formerly Twitter) @BDandCo or
Instagram @becton_dickinson
Contacts:
|
|
BD corporate
media
|
Investors
|
Troy
Kirkpatrick
VP, Public
Relations
858.617.2361
troy.kirkpatrick@bd.com
BD Singapore local
media
Keefe Chee
Segment Marketing Lead,
Life Sciences
65.9199.3584
keefe_chee@bd.com
|
Adam Reiffe
BD Investor Relations
201.847.6927
adam.reiffe@bd.com
|
i Chua B, et al. Int J Environ Res Public
Health. 2021 Apr 26;18(9):4586.
ii Arbyn, M. et al. (2018) Detecting cervical
precancer and reaching underscreened women by using HPV testing on
self samples: updated meta-analyses. Bmj 363, k4823; Cadman, L. et
al. (2021) A randomised comparison of different vaginal
self-sampling devices and urine for human papillomavirus testing -
Predictors 5.1. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Published Online
First on January 29, 2021; DOI:
10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-1226; Rohner, E. et al. (2020) Test
Accuracy of Human Papillomavirus in Urine for Detection of Cervical
Intraepithelial Neoplasia. J Clin Microbiol 58 (3)
iii
https://www.who.int/news/item/17-11-2020-a-cervical-cancer-free-future-first-ever-global-commitment-to-eliminate-a-cancer
iv https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cervical-cancer
v https://www.nrdo.gov.sg/docs/librariesprovider3/default-document-library/scr-ar-2021-web-report.pdf?sfvrsn=591fc02c_0
vi National Population Health Survey 2019, ISBN
978-981-14-5641-1. Epidemiology & Disease Control Division and
Policy, Research & Surveillance Group, Ministry of Health and
Health Promotion Board, Singapore.
vii
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/hpv/hpv-and-cancer-info.html
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bd-partners-with-camtech-health-to-increase-access-to-cervical-cancer-screening-in-singapore-302066991.html
SOURCE BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)