New ELISA protocol for Midkine detection in blood serum

BioGenes GmbH, a supplier of GMP compliant immunoassay and antibody services, has developed and optimized the first ever fully validated ELISA protocol for Midkine detection in blood serum. Furthermore, BioGenes has completed the manufacture of the first batch of MK ELISA kits. Midkine blood test (MK ELISA) has been recently launched by Sydney-based Cellmid Limited (ASX: CDY).
The kits are available for purchase to the global research market directly through Cellmid (www.cellmid.com.au) who is now applying for CE marking of its test.

MK ELISA is a highly sensitive and robust assay for the accurate measurement of Midkine in blood serum. Midkine, which is also known as neurite growth-promoting factor 2 (NEGF2), is an embryonic cytokine and well known cancer biomarker that has been found to correlate with cancer progression and malignancy. Midkine shows limited expression in healthy adults, but is detectable in high quantities in the blood and urine of patients with a wide variety of cancers. Cellmid's MK ELISA kit is therefore suitable for diagnostic development and the validation of cancer diagnostic and prognostic applications.

"Midkine blood test is highly sensitive with a detection limit of 8pg/ml which is well within the range of healthy serum MK levels of 0 to 300pg/ml. The test is also highly selective and shows no cross-reactivity with closely related protein Pleiotrophin. The assay recognizes all major species of Midkine including human, mouse, dog and pig making it highly suitable for animal studies and veterinary cancer diagnostic applications," says Dagmar Schwertner, Director Marketing at BioGenes.

"I would like to thank BioGenes for their superb technical contribution to this difficult assay development project" said CEO of Cellmid, Maria Halasz. "Their professional and persistent approach has been instrumental in the program's success" she added.