COVID-19 Antibody Tests For Variants Now Available Worldwide

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC. (MSD) today announced the commercial release of its V-PLEX^® Serology Panels for SARS-CoV-2 variants. The release includes panels that test for important variants spreading worldwide, including the B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P1 variants, referred to in the news as the U.K., South African, and Brazilian variants, respectively.  These new tests supplement MSD's V-PLEX SARS-CoV-2 Panel 2, which was chosen by Operation Warp Speed (OWS) as the basis of its standard binding assays for immunogenicity assessments in all funded Phase III clinical trials of vaccines. 

Variants of SARS-CoV-2 may evade immunity or increase transmission, increasing COVID-19 cases and potentially diminishing the impact of vaccines. MSD's new V-PLEX Serology Panels help scientists understand how SARS-CoV-2 variants respond to antibodies generated by vaccination or natural infection. They can be used in the effort to combat the new variant viruses, including in developing new vaccines, monitoring the spread of infection, and assessing whether current vaccines or past infections confer protection in different populations.

Jacob Wohlstadter, President and Chief Executive Officer, remarked, "The emergence of certain new SARS-CoV-2 variants presents a challenge to the worldwide effort to combat COVID-19. We are grateful to the many organizations studying and developing new vaccines for important variants.  MSD is proud to support their efforts with new V-PLEX Serology Panels for SARS-CoV-2 variants and honored to be part of the global effort to end the pandemic."

The new V-PLEX Serology Panels contain antigens from both wild-type SARS-CoV-2 virus and variant viruses, including the antigens in the original panels used by OWS. All antigens are manufactured by MSD, using a common production and testing process, and share common sequences other than the mutations characteristic of each variant, enabling continuity with previous studies and comparability among variants.

"These new tests will accelerate the timelines for developing vaccines against variants," said James Wilbur, Chief Business Officer of MSD. "They use the same platform and components as our original V-PLEX SARS-CoV-2 Panel 2, enabling immediate use in ongoing clinical trials and epidemiological studies." 

The commercial release also includes V-PLEX Neutralization Panels for SARS-CoV-2 variants.  These panels test the ability of antibodies to block binding between angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and antigens from the variant viruses. SARS-CoV-2 viruses bind ACE2 to initiate infection in cells, and variant viruses evade immunity with mutations that diminish protective blocking by antibodies.  MSD's new V-PLEX Neutralization Panels provide functional information about protective immunity from variants, similar to traditional viral neutralization assays, but with much higher throughput and without the requirement for highly specialized laboratory conditions.

About Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC.
Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC., based in Rockville, Maryland, develops, manufactures, and markets instruments and assays for array-based biological measurements for research use in life sciences and for biodefense applications. MSD is the world's leading provider of highly sensitive multiplex immunoassays. More information about MSD and its products can be found at www.mesoscale.com.

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