LifeSpan BioSciences, Inc. (LSBio™), the industry leader in molecular pathology, today announced the first release of its PathPlusTM series of antibodies.

These 565 antibodies were selected from among thousands tested and identified to be the best performing reagents for immunohistochemical detection of 200 high-value cancer targets in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded human tissues.

Antibody validation has become an industry roadblock as thousands of antibodies have become available to customers who face difficult choices in determining which antibodies are the best performers for each application, including immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, ELISA, Western blot, or immunofluorescence. Antibodies that perform well in one assay, such as IHC, may not be the most specific reagent for another assay, such as flow cytometry.

“Identifying the optimal reagents to use in their experiments is a pain point for researchers,” said LSBio CEO Heather Holemon. “There is a tremendous need to identify the best performers in every application from among the hundreds of antibodies that are currently available to each target.”

LSBio has initiated a program to systematically identify the best performing antibodies in each application. Its initial focus is to identify those antibodies that are the best performers in immunohistochemistry on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. With a tissue archive of over two million samples, and more than 20 years’ experience performing IHC for pharma and biotech customers, LSBio is uniquely qualified to determine which reagents are the best-in class.

Immunohistochemistry, which is the technique used by pathologists to classify tumors, is a powerful method of antibody validation because it can be used to visualize the binding of an antibody to individual cell types within complex tissues and to subcellular structures within cells such as nuclei or cell membranes. Comparing the specific binding characteristics of multiple antibodies to the same target allows LSBio to identify those that have the highest degree of specificity and least nonspecific staining.

LSBio uses a stringent validation protocol that involves blinded IHC testing of up to 20 different antibodies to a target protein on a tissue microarray containing 21 different human tissue types. The results for each antibody are analyzed and compared in order to rank them by performance. Those antibodies that show the highest specificity and least nonspecific staining on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues are offered under the PathPlus™ brand.

“We have a unique opportunity to leverage our leadership position in antibody validation to set the standard for providing high-quality IHC antibodies to the research and pharmaceutical communities,” said Glenna Burmer, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of LifeSpan. “We plan to offer multiple series of PathPlusTM validated reagents as we evaluate antibodies to the most important targets in the human genome.”

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