Phadia Introduces Recombinant Control Antibodies into Autoimmune Tests

Phadia (Freiberg, Germany) has introduced recombinant antibodies into an autoimmune screening platform. AbD Serotec, MorphoSys' (Munich, Germany) division for diagnostic and research antibodies, has a license agreement with Phadia to continuously supply Phadia with the recombinant antibody material.

Serotec generated a series of recombinant antibodies in the immunoglobulin (Ig)A, IgM, and IgG1 formats, which Phadia will implement in its autoimmune tests Varelisa, a classical ELISA microtiter platform, and EliA, a fully automated system for the measurement of autoantibodies EliA. The set of recombinant HuCAL-derived antibodies provided by AbD Serotec act as recombinant control antibodies and replace human serum to standardize autoimmune assays.

Autoimmune diseases include juvenile diabetes, various forms of rheumatism, hepatitis, thyroiditis, and a variety of skin diseases. An early diagnosis can improve treatment options and improve quality of life for patients significantly. However, since the early symptoms, especially of systemic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid disorders, can be very diffuse, several years can pass from the onset of the disease until a correct diagnosis is made. New easy-to-use and cost-effective diagnostic methods would shorten the time-to-diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

[The] news marks the first market entry of a clinical diagnostic kit comprising a HuCAL antibody, commented Dr. Simon Moroney, CEO of MorphoSys. This development is a significant step forwards for recombinant antibody technology in the diagnostics field, and a major operational milestone for our antibody (Ab)D unit.

Phadia develops, manufactures, and markets complete blood test systems to support the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of allergy, asthma, and autoimmune diseases. The center in Freiberg develops and supports diagnostic tests for autoimmune diseases.

MorphoSys is a biotechnology company focused on the generation of fully human antibodies as a means to discover and develop innovative antibody-based drugs against life-threatening diseases. MorphoSys' goal is to establish HuCAL as the technology of choice for antibody generation in diagnostics, therapeutic applications, and research.


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