HSINCHU, TAIWAN-- May 03, 2021 -- GeneTex, a leading international research antibody manufacturer, continues to expand and diversify its nearly comprehensive portfolio of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 reagents. Recently, the company has focused on developing products to help overcome the viral variants that threaten to undermine the social distancing measures and vaccination programs designed to end the pandemic. These efforts have culminated in the creation of GeneTex's SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RBD ACE2 Binding Activity / Neutralization Assay Panel (GTX300122) as a significant addition to its catalog. The panel includes a selection of recombinant proteins representing the spike protein receptor-binding domains (RBDs) of the original “wildtype” SARS-CoV-2 strain as well as those of the three major variants (i.e., B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1) currently circulating globally.

A novel component of this panel is a recombinant rabbit monoclonal antibody, clone [HL1002] (GTX635791), that effectively inhibits the interactions of the wildtype and all three variant RBD proteins with ACE2. This antibody serves as an ideal control for researchers to perform binding inhibition assays to assess the ability of test sera, antibodies, or chemical compounds to block the spike RBD:ACE2 interaction. As epitopes in the RBD are targeted by the majority of characterized antibodies with significant SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing ability, agents that disrupt RBD:ACE2 binding will likely be invaluable as therapeutics to combat new cases of severe COVID-19. These types of analyses are now even more important to meet not only the challenges of the known spike RBD variants but also those that almost assuredly will arise as the pandemic persists in populations where vaccine supply, distribution, or hesitancy are considered as concerns. Thus, this antibody, in conjunction with the recombinant proteins in the panel, offers an effective platform to identify potential therapeutics as well as to study the antibody responses of people who acquire immunity to SARS-CoV-2 through either natural infection or vaccination.

GeneTex remains committed to the global biomedical community‘s efforts to combat the pandemic. The remarkable progress against the virus in such a short time is testament to the vast body of coronavirus knowledge compiled by researchers over previous decades and the effective and rapid application of this information to fight SARS-CoV-2. For its part, GeneTex’s product catalog will continue to evolve with the goal of becoming the most extensive and well-validated collection of SARS-CoV-2 and coronavirus research reagents available on the market.

GeneTex products are for research use only. Not for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.