Organizations believe that these tests will be critical for disease control in developing countries.
AbD Serotec will collaborate with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) on the development of temperature-stable HuCAL-based antibodies as components of parasite diagnostic tests for use in tropical climates. The deal gives FIND commercial rights to these antibodies for in vitro diagnostics.
AbD Serotec will participate in selling the relevant diagnostic tests in industrialized countries. If successful, the collaboration could be expanded to cover other areas of relevance to the Switzerland-based nonprofit organization.
FIND is dedicated to the development of new diagnostics for poverty-related diseases such as TB, malaria, and sleeping sickness. The organization points out that most rapid commercial diagnostics are developed for storage and use at 25 to 30 degrees Celsius and are consequently liable to degradation in the higher ambient temperatures of many disease-stricken developing countries. It believes increasing the temperature stability and shelf-life of diagnostic kits could be crucial in the struggle to improve infectious disease control in these areas.
