AbD Serotec to Present Next Generation Calibrators and Controls at 6th International Congress on Autoimmunity

AbD Serotec, a Division of MorphoSys, will present novel ways for standardization of autoimmune tests using antibodies generated using its HuCAL technology at the 6th International Congress on Autoimmunity, Porto, on September 11th and 12th.

The detection of human antibodies in patient sera in various formats or isotypes lies at the heart of a broad range of immuno-diagnostic assays in autoimmunity and infectious diseases. For the majority of these tests, assay control reagents and calibrators are needed, but their availability and quality often do not meet the requirements of the diagnostic industry. Today, patient sera are predominantly used and are currently considered the "gold standard". The problems associated with the use of such sera include the need to repeatedly calibrate the assay due to variations in product quality, limited quantities and the potential of contamination with harmful substances such as viruses. AbD Serotec considers calibrators and controls based on its fully in vitro based HuCAL technology as a unique offering for these applications based on the technology's flexibility in antibody generation and the possibility to create human monoclonal antibodies of any isotype. Several diagnostic customers have already ordered HuCAL-based antibodies for these applications.

"We anticipate a great need in the diagnostics industry for standardized, reliable monoclonal antibody controls in diagnostic assays where the patient's antibody response is measured. The industry so far was lacking antigen-specific human monoclonal antibodies of defined isotypes, and in reproducible qualities, requirements that can be perfectly met by our HuCAL technology," commented Achim Knappik, Head of R&D at AbD Serotec. "The generation of such controls is an attractive new opportunity for our business and a unique addition to AbD Serotec's product offering."