On Sept 2, Sun Le, president and CEO of Beijing AbMax Biotechnology Co, said, “AbMax has taken the lead in China in expressing the Ebola GP1 protein with 293 eukaryocytes, and has discovered three linear surface loci of proprietary intellectual property rights, thus laying a foundation for the development of the Ebola diagnostic kit antibody drug.”

AbMax, which settled down in the development area in 2011, is the fastest and best antibody research, development and service platform in the world. Now it is focusing on developing a diagnostic reagent and antibody drug.

It developed the first test strip for rapid rabies virus diagnosis in China and has the nation’s leading antibody library, including the world's largest emerging and serious infectious disease pathogene antibody library covering all the serious and emerging infectious diseases known. Thus, it is an important strategic resource for Beijing and the whole country in treating emergent infectious diseases and biological counterterrorism.

The Ebola virus that broke out in West Africa in February 2014 is known as the scariest infectious disease because its fatality rate is up to 90 percent, six times that of the SARS virus. Thus, the Alliance of Bio-Box Outsourcing in China (ABO) launched the "Rapid Emergency Response System for Emerging Infectious Disease" to address the outbreak and spread of Ebola.

AbMax is an important participant and took the lead in making achievements. It is said that the envelope protein GP (glycoprotein) of the Ebola virus is the only surface envelope protein and plays a critical role in mediating the virus to cells.

Meanwhile, GP is considered an important factor that determines Ebola pathogenicity. The successful expression of the GP1 protein will undoubtedly lay a solid foundation for AbMax to develop the Ebola diagnostic kit.

"The time to develop the diagnostic reagent has been shortened. The sample of the diagnostic kit of gene GP1 protein development was released within a month or so and went through pilot-scale experiments within two months. There's no corresponding Ebola GP monoclonal antibody in the market now. As an important platform of antibody research and development, AbMax should step forward at the crucial time," said Sun Le.