ELISA Kits Aid in Diagnosis of Bullous Pemphigoid

BP is characterized by mild to severe blisters covering the body, and is diagnosed in approximately 3,000 people each year in the United States. It is an autoimmune disease found mainly in the elderly. The BP180 and BP230 antibodies are characteristic of BP and are found in the serum of affected patients.

Diagnosis of BP is generally by a combination of the clinical picture together with the immunofluorescence method (IF) to look at autoantibody patterns in patient tissue. MBL International has produced innovative ELISA kits, each containing 48 wells coated with the recombinant BP180 and BP230 antigen. These kits are highly specific and sensitive and have a combined correlation of greater than 90% when compared to the IF method.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA; Rockville, MD, USA) cleared the BP180 and BP230 ELISA kits for the detection of Bullous Pemphigoid (BP); the new kits also have the CE marking.

MBLI's CEO Dennis Walczewski, said, "These new kits present a significant advance in testing for this irritating skin malady and it is our hope that improved testing can lead to better treatment.”

MBL International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Medical and Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd. (Nagoya, Japan), the first manufacturer of antibodies in Japan, and a leading supplier of autoimmune products. MBL International imports, manufactures, develops, and sells reagents, kits, and diagnostic products that target the autoimmune system. Recently, MBL International acquired Bion Enterprises, Ltd. (Des Plaines, IL, USA), which has led to an increase in the company's array of diagnostic products that are used to test for and diagnose severe skin diseases, viral infections, and many additional autoimmune diseases.

Related Links:
MBL International
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Bion Enterprises