Aalto Bio Reagents Launches Dengue Virus Native Antigen for Diagnostic Testing.

DUBLIN, IRELAND - Nov 14, 2016 - Aalto Bio Reagents today announced the availability of a new native Dengue virus antigen for diagnostic test manufacturers, vaccine developers and researchers globally. This native Dengue antigen is comprised of intact virus particles made up of both structural and non-structural proteins, including Envelope and NS1. Dengue virus is a mosquito-borne Flavivirus closely related to Zika virus and West Nile virus. The Dengue virus was first isolated by Ren Kimura and Susuma Hotta while studying blood samples of patients taken during the 1943 Dengue epidemic in Nagasaki, Japan. It is transmitted to humans primarily via the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito, which acquires the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person.

While there are numerous diagnostic tests on the market at present for Dengue virus, there are few Flavivirus panel assays and no specific Dengue virus therapeutics available. The massive upsurge in Zika virus serology and molecular testing has meant it is becoming increasingly more important to screen for other arboviruses with similar clinical presentations to Zika virus, such as Dengue virus and Chikungunya virus. Aalto Bio is leading the field in the development of these target recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. The addition of this new native Dengue virus antigen offers development teams and researchers globally access to vital new raw material to test samples in the race to diagnose patients earlier and help with vaccine development.

Philip Noone, CEO of Aalto Bio Reagents, said “With Zika virus confirmed present in almost 70 countries globally, it is obvious that the Zika epidemic continues to expand. The most recent announcement in the U.S., that all blood donations are now to be screened for Zika, highlights the need for even better diagnostic tests for tropical disease diagnosis in blood and serum. Aalto Bio was first to develop recombinant proteins for Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika virus; however now the diagnostic centres of excellence are requesting a native Dengue antigen which could further enhance the earlier diagnosis of the virus. In response to this demand, Aalto Bio has developed this new Dengue native antigen. At Aalto Bio Reagents we are continuously expanding our tropical disease product portfolio and development of the native Dengue antigen was a natural progression of this. We are proud to enable our clients to bring superior, best-in-class diagnostic products to market faster and aid in the development of life-saving vaccines.

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About Aalto Bio Reagents
Founded in 1978, Aalto Bio Reagents is a leading developer and provider of raw materials to the in-vitro diagnostics industry and to research laboratories globally. We serve the largest multinational companies in our industry with a broad range of purified human proteins; monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies; fungal, parasitic, bacterial and viral antigens; and disease state plasma for in-vitro diagnostic application.

Since the company's inception, we have built strong working relationships with our clients who trust us to provide them with the highest quality raw materials to meet the exacting standards of their own product development requirements. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, the company is rapidly expanding both its product portfolio and customer base. For further information please visit http://www.aaltobioreagents.com

Contact: Technical Sales Tel: +353-1-4900685 Email: info@aaltobioreagents.com