Contact:
Jeremy Craig, 404-413-1357
University Relations
Dan Clutter, 608-441-2904
Gentel Biosciences Inc.
ATLANTA — Georgia State University and Gentel Biosciences, a provider of animal health research products, announced today (Aug. 2) an agreement with the Georgia State University Research Foundation and GSU’s National B Virus Resource Center for its B virus antigen to be licensed for use in Gentel’s Colony Surveillance Assays.
Gentel licensed the B virus antigen for worldwide commercial use. The agreement was completed on July 22.
“It's been a long-term goal of the National B Virus Resource Center to find methodologies to simplify detection of B virus,” said Julia Hilliard, director of the National B Virus Resource Center at Georgia State University. “We consider this a first-stage success that will provide wide applications for B virus diagnosis.”
According to Dan Clutter, Gentel’s vice president of commercial development, “Gentel is thrilled to include the B virus antigen in Gentel’s CSA: Simian products. The combination of the expertise of the two organizations has led to the first commercially available product using this material for detection of antibodies to the hazardous B virus in simian sera.”
B virus is a common infection in non-human primates that causes mild symptoms in them. While transmission to humans is rare, it results in severe disease, can be fatal, and presents a significant occupational health hazard for laboratory animal staff.
The addition of B virus to the Colony Surveillance Assay product line complements Gentel’s initiatives to grow its line of products to support translational research disease models. This strategy includes the addition of B virus to the improved CSA: Simian Basic panel for specific pathogen-free (SPF) research monkeys, and an expanded panel which covers additional opportunistic pathogens set to launch in early fall 2011.
These two CSA: Simian products provide the foundation for Gentel’s growing animal health research product line that enables diagnostic accuracy for blood screening of non-human primates (NHP).
Non-human primate models for disease are a critical component of translational research for disease models like HIV and are an important model system for the human immune system.
Maintaining specific pathogen-free status for these types of animal models is crucial to sustain the integrity of the study.
Gentel launched its product line supporting laboratory animal health in 2010 for non-human primates with its CSA: Simian Basic panel. The addition of the B virus antigen provides additional coverage for the panel, which includes six infectious agents monitored in SPF primates.
“We are extremely encouraged by the early response to the CSA: Simian products by the National Primate Research Centers, whose translational research studies depend on high sensitivity and affordability to maintain colony health and workplace safety,” said Alex Vodenlich, Gentel president and CEO.
More information about Gentel’s CSA: Simian Basic panel is available at www.CSA-Simian.com. For more information about the National B Virus Resource Center, visit http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwvir.
About the National B Virus Resource Center:
The Atlanta-based National B Virus Resource Center, part of the Viral Immunology Center of Georgia State University's Department of Biology, serves as a global resource funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Research Resources to study B virus. The center examines the mechanisms of the virus, as well as how those processes can be circumvented with early identification, appropriate antiviral drugs, and in the future, effective vaccines. The center also provides immediate support to research personnel in the event of exposure to the virus.
About Gentel Biosciences, Inc.:
Gentel delivers cost-effective, easy-to-use and reliable products to support laboratory animal health. These research products are designed to work with the Gentel Proteomics Multi-System™ (GPM), an all-in-one instrument for data capture and analysis. Gentel also has a strong portfolio of research oriented products for cancer biomarkers, cytokines and tumor protein analysis, which also work with the GPM. Gentel's headquarters is located in Madison, Wis.
Aug. 2, 2011