Morphosys teams up with charitable foundation

Collaboration

AbD Serotec, the research and diagnostics division of MorphoSys AG, has agreed a research collaboration with FIND, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, to discover heat-stable antibodies for use in diagnostic tests that are robust in tropical climates.

FIND is devoted to developing, evaluating and accelerating the implementation of new diagnostic tools for poverty-related diseases such as TB, malaria and sleeping sickness. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Current, rapid diagnostic tests allow detection of parasite antigens in a finger prick blood sample. However, most commercial diagnostic tests are unsuitable for use in tropical countries since they are developed for storage and use at 25-30ºC.  

Under the terms of the agreement, FIND has rights to the commercial use of heat-stable antibodies for in vitro diagnostics, while AbD Serotec will be able to sell diagnostic tests using such antibodies in industrialised countries. The collaboration could be expanded to cover other disease areas relevant to FIND’s objectives.

Giorgio Roscigno, FIND’s CEO, said, “We are very excited by our collaboration with AbD Serotec and the potential of introducing cutting-edge technologies in high disease burden countries. This can only lead to a more rapid impact on disease management in the field, where conditions are the most problematic.”

He added, “Although FIND is currently focused on diagnostic platforms for TB, malaria and sleeping sickness, numerous other infectious diseases may be diagnosed in the future using the same technological platforms.”