Zalgen Awarded CEPI Contract to Provide Test Kits for Largest Ever Lassa Fever Study in West Africa
By: Colorado BioScience Association Date: 08/31/2021
Zalgen Labs LLC (Zalgen), a biotechnology and diagnostics company focused on preparedness for high impact, neglected infectious diseases including Lassa Fever (LF), today announced its contract with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to further advance the development of vaccines against Lassa Fever (LF) in West Africa, a region where the disease is endemic. Zalgen, whose mantra is preparedness and whose mission is to develop countermeasures for existing and emerging hemorrhagic fevers that could become pandemics, is able to support CEPI and aligns to CEPI’s mission through its goal to create a world in which epidemics are no longer a threat.
Under the terms of the contract, Zalgen will supply its LF antibody testing kits (ReLASV® Pan-Lassa NP IgG ELISA kits) to CEPI’s Enable study partners in Benin, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, over a three-year period, to test up to 7,000 participants for LF antibodies (specifically, anti-LASV nucleoprotein (NP) human IgG antibodies). Enable is the largest ever LF study, created and funded by CEPI, to provide a more accurate assessment of the incidence of infections in West Africa, as the true case count is unknown and may differ from current estimates of 100,000 to 300,000 cases per year. Tracking LF antibodies using Zalgen’s testing kits will better guide estimates of how many individuals in the general population are likely to have previously been infected with the virus.
Find out more in the press release.