Promega HiBiT-PsVLP Bioassay to Aid Global Vaccine Research

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Promega technology used in the development of vaccines for infectious viral diseases will support a collaboration between Charles River and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations’ (CEPI’s) Centralised Laboratory Network. The Promega HiBiT-PsVLP Bioassay enables researchers to safely clone components of a virus without requiring the actual harmful virus particles. This technology will aid in advancing the collaboration’s objective to standardize and expedite the development of vaccines for epidemic and pandemic diseases, including Ebola Sudan, Marburg and other infectious viruses.

“It allows the team to generate critical data for vaccine development without handling dangerous infectious viral particles.”

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“The assay is simple, safe and convenient,” says Promega Research Scientist Jonathon Mitchell. “It allows the team to generate critical data for vaccine development without handling dangerous infectious viral particles.”

Promega HiBiT-PsVLP Bioassay

Researchers will use the HiBiT-PsVLP Bioassay to characterize neutralizing antibodies produced in response to vaccines, first focusing on vaccine candidates being developed against Ebola Sudan and Marburg viruses. If successful, the technology may also be evaluated against other CEPI priority diseases, like the new or as-yet identified Disease X, and distributed to other partners.

This assay uses HiBiT bioluminescence technology to tag pseudotyped virus-like particles (PsVLPs) that contain the cell entry protein on their surface. Virus-like particles mimic the size and shape of a viral particle, but they are noninfectious because they contain no viral genetic material. The assay will reveal whether the antibodies properly bind to the cell entry proteins, thereby blocking the virus from entering host cells.

Advantages of this assay include:

• Safe: No virus generation; suited for BSL-1/2 environments
• Simple: Ready-to-use kit format; just add, mix and read
• Fast: Get data in hours instead of days
• Flexible: Adaptable for multiple viruses

The CEPI Centralised Laboratory Network is the largest global group working to standardize the immunology methods for developing and evaluating vaccines against emerging infectious diseases. Charles River, a highly respected, global provider of drug discovery and non-clinical development solutions, is the seventeenth member to join the network. Charles River will first use the HiBiT-PsVLP Bioassay to generate non-clinical data that will be shared with other members of the network.

Learn more about the Promega HiBiT-PsVLP Bioassay here.

About Promega Corporation

Promega Corporation is a leader in providing innovative solutions and technical support to the life sciences industry. The company’s portfolio of over 4,000 products supports a range of life science work across areas such as cell biology; DNA, RNA and protein analysis; drug development; human identification and molecular diagnostics. These tools and technologies have grown in their application over the last 45 years and are used today by scientists and technicians in labs for academic and government research, forensics, pharmaceuticals, clinical diagnostics and agricultural and environmental testing. Promega is headquartered in Madison, WI, USA with branches in 16 countries and over 50 global distributors. Learn more at www.promega.com.