Roche Earns Emergency Use Authorization for Elecsys IL-6 COVID-19 Test

The FDA has granted Roche’s Elecsys IL-6 diagnostic test an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for identifying COVID-19 patients who may need mechanical ventilation.

The test measures the levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) present in human serum or plasma. IL-6 is released by the immune system early on during severe infection so it can be used to identify patients most at risk.

The Elecsys IL-6 test runs on Roche’s cobas e analyzers, which can return results in approximately 18 minutes. Up to 300 tests can be conducted per hour, depending on the analyzer used.