Becton Dickinson (BD) announced a strategic partnership with digital health firm Camtech Health to enhance cervical cancer screening in Singapore by introducing a self-collection approach for samples.
The collaborative program integrates Camtech Health’s HPV test for self-collection with BD’s Onclarity HPV assay, designed to identify 14 high-risk human papillomavirus strains. The primary objective of this initiative is to elevate the rate of cervical cancer screening in Singapore.
Samples obtained through Camtech Health’s HPV test kits will undergo analysis using the Onclarity assay and BD Viper LT molecular testing system. The results, subject to physician review, will be accessible through the Camtech Health app, as stated by Kuok Meng-Han, Chairman of Camtech. Notably, the Onclarity assay is capable of individually testing for an extended range of HPV types, including high-risk strains like HPV52 and HPV33/58, which are deemed significant for causing cervical cancer in Singapore.
Jeff Andrews, VP of global medical affairs at BD, highlighted the challenges faced by women in Singapore, such as time constraints, embarrassment, fear, and inconvenience, which have historically impeded cervical cancer screening. The conventional approach in Singapore involved HPV testing in clinical settings, requiring a speculum examination and clinician collection. The introduction of self-collection addresses these barriers, offering women increased accessibility to HPV testing in the privacy of their chosen location and time. Andrews emphasized that the reliability of self-collected samples is comparable to those obtained by a clinician.
It is noteworthy that BD obtained CE marking for the Onclarity test’s utilization with at-home sample self-collection in 2021, indicating compliance with European Union regulatory standards.