Subject: Litton Industries Inc. Given FDA Approval To Market AIDS Test
Date: Published: 4/9/85 34 lines
Source:  Wall Street Journal.  Copyright Dow Jones Inc. 

   Litton Industries Inc. 
   Given FDA Approval
   To Market AIDS Test

   BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Litton Industries Inc. said it
received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to
distribute a blood test for acquired immune deficiency
syndrome.
   The test, aimed at preventing AIDS from being spread
through blood transfusions, is used to screen blood that is
donated or sold to blood banks.  The test can detect
antibodies to a certain virus that is believed to cause AIDS,
an often-fatal disease that ravages the body's defenses
against illness.  The presence of the antibody indicates that
the blood's donor was once exposed to the disease, but
doesn't necessarily mean the donor will develop it.
   Other companies also have received approval to distribute
similar tests, including Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago,
Ill., and Electro-Nucleonics Inc., Fairfield, N. J. Still
other concerns are seeking FDA approval.
   Litton said it will begin shipping the $3 tests to blood
centers, clinical laboratories and hospitals this week.
   The company makes electronics systems, military equipment,
industrial automation systems and business machines.

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