Innatoss Laboratories has announced the first neutralizing antibody testing service against SARS-CoV-2 for the public in Europe, using cPass™ SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Antibody Detection Kit.

The kit is the first in the world that enables rapid detection of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), the specific antibodies present in the serum of COVID-19 patients that are responsible for clearing the viral infection. Innatoss is the first medical lab in Europe to provide a service of this kind for the public.

"cPass™ uses a novel test method that is capable of detecting the presence of virus-specific neutralizing antibodies. The test would be useful in determining the longevity of potential immunity both in individuals and the broader population and facilitating development of vaccines and monoclonal antibody therapy development. It will become the key test to monitor titers once vaccination has been implemented", said Dr Anja Garritsen, CEO of Innatoss. 

Innatoss recently performed a study in Kessel, a city in the south of the Netherlands that was severely affected during the first wave of COVID-19, to determine the longevity of binding antibodies versus neutralizing antibodies in individuals. 

The people were initially tested 2-4 months post-infection using a rapid test for IgG and IgM levels and then were retested 2-3 months later.  Afterwards, the patients' samples were tested for neutralizing antibodies using the GenScript cPass™ kit.  In 90 percent of the cases the binding antibody levels dropped significantly over time while the level of functional antibodies (neutralizing antibodies) was stable in 70 percent of those tested.

"The cPass™ test generates reliable results equivalent to the gold standard in virology laboratories, the live SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralization test, without the need for a BioSafety level 3 laboratory," said Dr Linfa Wang, the inventor of cPass, and Director of the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. "This novel test not only shows people's infection history but may provide some indication of protection in the future."