Alliance to Develop vCJD Blood Test

An exclusive agreement to develop a human blood test for variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (vCJD) has been announced by Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. (OCD, Raritan, NJ, USA) and Caprion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Montreal, Canada). Currently, no diagnostic test exists to screen for vCJD in the blood supply, according to the two companies.

The arrangement is an extension of an earlier research collaboration, where OCD exercised an option to license Caprion's prion technologies, including unique monoclonal antibodies for the detection of the agent responsible for vCJD. Caprion employs a proprietary, integrated subcellular proteomics discovery platform and expertise in cell fractionation to create comprehensive intracellular maps identifying the location, orientation, and movement of human proteins. OCD has obtained worldwide exclusive rights to the test for the marketing and distribution of human in vitro diagnostic applications and will fund all development activities and regulatory expenses.

"Health-care agencies worldwide are striving to ensure that blood supplies are safe, and the development of a test for vCJD would allow them to do so,” said Catherine M. Burzik, president of OCD.




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