MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY TEST KIT FOR CAMPYLOBACTER

ACUTE GASTROENTERITIS MAY BE THE SECOND MOST COMMON ILLNESS IN HUMANS, WITH CAMPYLOBACTER AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT CAUSATIVE AGENTS. WORLDWIDE, THERE ARE A BILLION CASES OF DIARRHEA ANNUALLY AND SEVERAL MILLION DEATHS. THERE ARE NO LICENSED OR WIDELY USED RAPID DIAGNOSTIC METHODS AVAILABLE TO IDENTIFY CAMPYLOBACTER INFECTION. WHEN USED, THE STOOL CULTURE IS ARGUABLY THE MOST UNTIMELY AND COST INEFFECTIVE OF ALL THE MICROBIOLOGICAL TESTS. SYNBIOTICS CORPORATION'S GOAL IS TO DEVELOP MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY-BASED TESTS, USEFUL IN CONVENTIONAL FORMATS, WHICH CAN DETECT CAMPYLOBACTER INFECTIONS. IN PHASE I, MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES REACTIVE WITH THE SEROTYPES PATHOGENIC IN HUMANS WILL BE PRODUCED. THESE WILLBE TESTED IN EIA ASSAYS FOR SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY AGAINST THE HOST CELL LINE, LIKELY CONFOUNDING CELL LINES AND VIRAL OR BACTERIAL STRAINS, AND STOOL SAMPLES. IN PHASE II, THESE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES OR ANTIBODIES FROM SISTER CLONES WILL BE ADAPTED TO OTHER FORMATS TO SATISFY THE NEEDS OF THE DIVERSE MARKET SEGMENTS. COMPLETE, CONVENIENT SYSTEMS WILL BE DEVELOPED AROUND THESE KITS, EACH GIVING RESULTS COMPARABLE TO THOSE OBTAINED WITH CULTURE; CLINICAL TRAILS FOR ALL WILL BE CONDUCTED.