BOULDER, CO--(Marketwire - January 5, 2011) - A blind study to test the effectiveness of a new virus quantification method published in the January issue of Journal of Virological Methods gives hope for a faster, more reliable and greatly improved method of virus quantification.
Scientists said the new, rapid assay -- which represents an alternative to a 70-year-old tedious plaque titer methodology -- would streamline research and development efforts for vaccine manufacturers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and researchers worldwide.
"This type of instrument could significantly speed up the development of vaccines which means timely treatment for patients worldwide," said one of the paper's authors and developer of the ViroCyt™ Virus Counter® 2100, Kathy L. Rowlen, PhD, InDevR's CEO and Chief Science Officer. "Current testing methodologies are inconsistent, sometimes unreliable and can take weeks to accomplish. The Virus Counter provides scientists with reliable results within minutes."
To test the effectiveness of the Virus Counter, a blind study aimed at quantifying baculovirus in several samples was conducted at Boulder, Colorado's InDevR lab, the Baylor College of Medicine's Baculovirus/Monoclonal Antibody Facility in Houston, Texas, and Protein Sciences Corporation (PSC) in Meriden, Connecticut. PSC, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, is a world leader in the baculovirus expression technology and uses this platform production system to make novel human and veterinary prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines and diagnostics. PSC's lead product is FluBlok, a seasonal recombinant trivalent influenza vaccine consisting of influenza hem agglutinin (HA) proteins.
The scientists found, "Overall, the data indicate that the Virus Counter provides a reliable means to quantify baculovirus samples... in a fraction of time required to conduct a plaque assay."
Baylor College of Medicine's Kurt Christensen, one of the investigators, said the Virus Counter proved to be more precise in quantifying viruses and significantly sped up the process. "This will allow scientists to be more productive and get vaccines to market more quickly," Christensen said.
"This study adds to the foundation of scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Virus Counter," Rowlen said. "The Virus Counter will greatly impact vaccine research and development as it is integrated into pharmaceutical, biotechnology and research labs the world over."
About InDevR
InDevR is among the fastest growing biotechnology firms in the West. Founded in 2003, the company develops breakthrough life science instrumentation. This year, InDevR launched the ViroCyt™2100 Virus Counter® for rapid virus quantification. For more information about the company, please visit www.indevr.com.
About Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in Houston is recognized as a premier academic health science center and is known for excellence in education, research and patient care. It is the only private medical school in the greater southwest and is ranked as one of the top 25 medical schools for research in U.S. News & World Report. BCM is listed 13th among all U.S. medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, and No. 2 in the nation in federal funding for research and development in the biological sciences at universities and colleges by the National Science Foundation. Located in the Texas Medical Center, BCM has affiliations with eight teaching hospitals. Currently, BCM trains more than 3,000 medical, graduate, nurse anesthesia, and physician assistant students, as well as residents and post-doctoral fellows. BCM is also home to the Baylor Clinic, an adult clinical practice that includes advanced technologies for faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment, access to the latest clinical trials and discoveries, and groundbreaking healthcare based on proven research. Follow Baylor College of Medicine on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BaylorCollegeOfMedicine) and twitter (http://twitter.com/BCMHouston).
About Protein Sciences Corporation
Protein Sciences Corporation (PSC) is a privately held vaccine company located in Meriden, CT. PSC is dedicated to the development and commercialization of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals using its patented BEVS manufacturing platform.
In addition to developing our own pipeline of proprietary vaccine candidates, PSC operates two additional business units; 1) a product development and contract manufacturing service (GeneXpress®) whereby clients can access and leverage PSC's manufacturing technology and regulatory experience 2) a line of Research Products for the scientific community. For more information about PSC, please visit the company's website at www.proteinsciences.com.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Amy Whittier
InDevR
303-402-9100
Brad Bawmann
The Bawmann Group
303-320-7790
