The Native Antigen Company (now part of LGC’s Clinical Diagnostics Division), one of the world’s leading suppliers of reagents that enables research into vaccines and diagnostics for emerging and endemic infectious diseases, today announced the introduction of ten new monoclonal antibodies recognizing SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. These ten antibodies recognise different epitopes of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein, nine of which are SARS-CoV-2-specific and do not cross-react with other human coronaviruses. The introduction of these new antibodies extends The Native Antigen Company’s existing range and offers researchers a source of high-quality reagents for the research and development of in vitro diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19.
Dr Andy Lane, Commercial Director at The Native Antigen Company
These SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were raised using the Company’s own S1 and S2 recombinant Spike proteins as immunogens. Produced in the Company’s proprietary mammalian expression system, these antigens exhibit full glycosylation and proper folding to ensure that antibodies raised against them are highly specific. The antibodies have been screened against the Company’s other coronavirus proteins, including SARS, MERS, NL63, OC43, 229E and HKU1 to demonstrate specificity. Three of the antibodies have been shown to be specific for the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of Spike, the region responsible for binding to the cellular ACE2 receptor.
There is a real need for commercially available antibodies that are specific for SARS-CoV-2, as many reagents that are currently in use were originally raised against SARS-CoV and only cross-react with SARS-CoV-2. The Native Antigen Company was one of the first recognized suppliers to release SARS-CoV-2 antigens in February of this year, and we have since continued to expand our offering. These ten new antibodies represent a significant advancement in the availability of defined reagents for CoV-2 studies, including immunoassay development for antigen detection.”
Dr Andy Lane, Commercial Director, The Native Antigen Company
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