Meridian Bioscience Launches New Animal-Free Immunoassay Interference Blockers

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 26 Jul 2023

Image: The new K-Block and Mouse-Free IgG overcome challenges encountered with traditional animal-based blockers (Photo courtesy of Meridian)

Meridian Bioscience Inc. (Cincinnati, OH, USA) is spotlighting its newly-introduced animal-free immunoassay interference blockers at this year's AACC conference. Immunoassay interference can lead to false positives and negatives, resulting in incorrect interpretation and faulty patient diagnosis. Interference primarily stems from Human Anti-Mouse Antibodies (HAMA), Rheumatoid Factor (RF), and Heterophilic Antibodies (HA). HAMA, detected in up to 25% of patients, combined with HA, constitute the major factors contributing to false positives in immunoassays. Including blockers in every immunoassay is essential to avoid such interference. Traditionally, animal-based interference blockers have been employed to enhance assay accuracy; however, these are prone to cross-reactivity with assay reagents, lot-to-lot variability, and supply shortages, as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meridian's Life Science division has unveiled two new animal-free immunoassay interference blockers, K-Block, and Mouse-Free IgG, offering a potential solution to these issues. These innovative blockers are completely animal-free and provide comparable or superior performance than traditional animal-derived blockers. Meridian's new K-Block and Mouse-Free IgG overcome the obstacles associated with conventional animal-based blockers. These advanced blockers enhance assay specificity, reduce lot-to-lot variability, comply with sustainability considerations, and minimize contamination risks from animal-derived components. Preliminary testing in ELISA-based assays has revealed a strong performance of K-Block and Mouse-FREE IgG compared to other commercial animal-derived blockers.

The introduction of these products is in line with Meridian's objective to pioneer sustainable and innovative raw materials for diagnostic assay manufacturers. By adopting these animal-free products, manufacturers can contribute to reducing their environmental footprint by optimizing energy and resource consumption and maintaining compliance with emerging regulatory standards. Meridian continues to champion environmental responsibility within the industry and is showcasing the two new animal-free immunoassay interference blockers, K-Block, and Mouse-Free IgG, at AACC 2023.

“At Meridian, we are deeply committed to supporting our customers who are seeking non-animal-derived raw materials in diagnostic assays,” said Lourdes Weltzien, Ph.D., President - Life Science, Meridian Bioscience. “Our novel 100% animal-free blockers deliver on this commitment while avoiding the need to consume millions of mice each year in the process. This innovative method not only allows us to scale up quickly but also delivers results that are equivalent or even superior in quality. With this new product line, we reaffirm our dedication to environmental sustainability and social responsibility, ensuring a more ethical and responsible approach in our operations as well as our customers.”

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