Detecting XMRV antibodies

VIP Dx received confirmation from representatives of the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI) that a multiplex serological assay to detect XMRV antibodies should be available for use within the next 30 days.

“This serological test will allow our lab to quickly and accurately determine which individuals are positive for XMRV,” explained Marguerite Ross, director of marketing and client relations for VIP Dx. “Discovering who is positive is an important first step in helping to determine how XMRV is impacting human health.”

VIP Dx has also recently entered into an agreement to be acquired by the Whittemore Peterson Institute, and become an integral part of the Institute. The clinical laboratory will continue to operate under the name VIP Dx, until it moves to the University of Nevada's Center for Molecular Medicine in August 2010.

At that time, the lab will operate within the Institute under the name Unevx, providing services and revenue to the Institute in a manner similar to other institutional clinical reference laboratories.

"Our agreement to acquire VIP Dx is the culmination of years of planning and sacrifice,” said Annette Whittemore, president and founder of the Whittemore Peterson Institute. "It has always been our intent to offer a wide range of patient services, including diagnostic testing, within WPI’s new facility at the University of Nevada, Reno. The addition of comprehensive clinical laboratory services will significantly strengthen the translational clinical research program providing much needed answers to patients and their doctors."

Finally, in response to thousands of requests for testing, WP Biotechnologies (WPBio), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Whittemore Peterson Institute, finalized a non-exclusive license agreement with R.E.D. Laboratories N.V. of Belgium (R.E.D. Labs) to provide XMRV testing of European patients.

As part of this agreement, R.E.D. Labs will receive consulting services delivered by VIP Dx to ensure the Belgium laboratory delivers the proprietary tests with the utmost accuracy. “This activity will help implement the delivery and execution of XMRV tests by virus culture for patients all across Europe, using the WPI technology,” said Carli West Kinne, director of WPBio. “The European market is a significant part of our plan to move the work of the WPI forward on behalf of those who are ill.”