Beckman Coulter (Orange County, Calif.) has licensed testing rights for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (Deerfield, Ill.) for $12 million. Under the agreement, Beckman Coulter can develop, manufacture, and sell a quantitative viral load HCV blood test for use on the company's molecular diagnostics instrument, which is slated to launch in 2010.

Critical in managing HCV patients, viral load testing is used to monitor therapy for the duration of the infection. An estimated 180 million people are chronically infected with the hepatitis virus. Each year, three to four million are newly infected. HCV infection can cause acute hepatitis and chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. According to the World Health Organization, two-thirds of all liver transplants in developed countries are the result of these diseases.