Bioventix develops novel antibody to Vitamin D, a key biological marker linked
to multiple diseases
Farnham, Surrey, UK, 01 December 2010 - Bioventix plc (BVXP) ("Bioventix" or
"the Company"), a UK company that specialises in the development and commercial
supply of high-affinity monoclonal antibodies for applications in clinical
diagnostics, announces a significant breakthrough in the creation of a unique
antibody to vitamin D. The new antibody, called vitD3.5H10, could have
significant utility in the manufacture of tests designed to determine the
vitamin D status of patients.
Vitamin D status is linked with increased risk of many chronic diseases
including autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancers, type II
diabetes and infectious diseases. This new awareness of the importance of
vitamin D to overall health and the consequences of vitamin D deficiency has
stimulated rapid growth in the demand for vitamin D tests at hospitals and
clinics. Consequently, antibodies for use in such diagnostic tests are highly
sought after within the healthcare industry.
The complication for vitamin D tests is that there are two different forms of
vitamin D, named D3 and D2, both of which are active. Vitamin D3 is derived
within the body from exposure of the skin to sunlight whereas D2 is a yeast-
and plant-derived product, available in supplements and fortified foods. There
is broad agreement within the medical community that vitamin D tests must
recognise the two relevant forms of vitamin D equally.
Using its proprietary technology, Bioventix's team of antibody scientists has
created an antibody called vitD3.5H10 that recognises both relevant forms of
vitamin D with equal and high affinity. The Directors believe that there is
considerable commercial potential for this antibody given the rarity of the
properties of vitD3.5H10 and the significant degree of difficulty in creating
such an antibody. Commercial scale manufacture has already started and
evaluation studies using prototype tests based on vitD3.5H10 are being
conducted at a number of key Bioventix customers.
Bioventix's customers are the large multinational diagnostics companies that
supply blood testing equipment to hospitals around the world. Amongst the
companies that operate in this field are Roche Diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare
Diagnostics, Abbott Laboratories, Beckman Coulter and Ortho Clinical
Diagnostics (a division of Johnson & Johnson).
Peter Harrison, CEO of Bioventix said "Given the emerging importance of vitamin
D to maintain general health, I am very excited about vitD3.5H10 and its future
commercial prospects."
The Directors of Bioventix plc accept responsibility for this announcement.
Bioventix plc
Peter Harrison, CEO
+44 (0)1252 728001; peter.harrison@bioventix.com
Keith, Bayley, Rogers & Co. Limited - PLUS Corporate Adviser
David Coffman
+44 (0)203 100 8300
ABOUT BIOVENTIX
Bioventix (www.bioventix.com) specialises in the development and commercial
supply of high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (SMAs) with a primary focus on
their application in clinical diagnostics, such as in automated immunoassays
used in blood testing. The antibodies created at Bioventix are generated in
sheep and are of particular benefit where the target to be assayed is present
at low concentration and where conventional mouse monoclonal or polyclonal
antibodies derived from various species have failed to produce a suitable
reagent.
Bioventix was incorporated in 2003 following a management buyout of assets
(including technology and intellectual property) relating to the creation of
SMAs from KS Biomedix Limited. The management buyout was led by Peter Harrison
and principally funded by SpringHill Bioventures Sendirian Berhad, a venture
capital fund company registered and regulated by the Securities Commission in
Malaysia.
Since 2003, Bioventix has established a profitable commercial offering based on
its SMA technology and its shares became quoted on the PLUS-Market in London in
April 2010 (BVXP).