Native Antigen Co. announces the launch of a new range of Dengue Virus-Like Particles

Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) represent an increasingly important technology for use in vaccine development and serology. VLPs consist of protein shells comprising outer proteins specific to the virus in question.

VLPs are more representative of how viral antigens are presented in vivo and while they are highly immunogenic they are non-infectious as they lack the core genetic material  of the virus and therefore, for many viruses, they do not have to be handled in high containment facilities. NAC VLPs are produced in human cell lines using state of the art expression techniques.

Now, for the first time, all Dengue serotypes (1 to 4) are available from NAC in VLP formats and are constructed from E, M and preM proteins. The Dengue Virus Serotype 2 VLP has already been well received by NAC customers and is now complemented by Dengue Serotypes 1, 3 and 4 VLPs.

With more than one-third of the world’s population living in areas at risk of transmission, dengue infection is a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics (ref WHO for Guidelines for Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention & Control, 2009). As many as 100 million people are infected yearly. Dengue is caused by any one of four related viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. NAC is now applying its VLP capability to a number of significant viral pathogens, particularly where containment may be an issue and these additional new products are expected to be launched towards the end of 2015. The Company has also embarked on a custom VLP projects and this service is now being made generally available.

Further details of the product are available at the NAC web site at: http://thenativeantigencompany.com/product/dengue-virus-serotype-2-vlp/