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ShareTo advance the availability of reliable recombinant antibodies, PETA Science Consortium International e.V. is sequencing an existing animal-derived antibody supplied by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Veterinary Biologics. This antibody is used in in vitro potency testing for leptospirosis vaccines. While the use of the in vitro test provides a welcome alternative to the otherwise required in vivo hamster test, the use of an animal-derived antibody may introduce variability as animal-derived antibodies suffer from batch-to-batch variation and are less exact than recombinant antibodies. Alternatively, recombinant antibodies are consistent and reproducible across batches and offer long-term and scalable supply.
To address these issues, the Science Consortium funded biotech company Absolute Antibody to determine the DNA sequence of the animal-derived antibody to recombinantly produce it without the use of animals moving forward. Following sequencing, veterinary vaccine manufacturers will evaluate the antibody in the in vitro potency test. This recombinant antibody can potentially replace the animal-derived antibody and improve the reliability of the in vitro potency test for leptospirosis vaccines.