Aalto Bio Reagents relaunches world-renowned affinity-purified anti-HIV-1 gp120 antibody

Aalto Bio Reagents is delighted to announce the re-launch of their world-renowned affinity-purified anti-HIV-1 gp120 antibody, code D7324, for research use globally. Aalto Bio Reagents has been supplying HIV reagents to the research community since 1988 and there are now over 100 international cited publications referencing use of our HIV-1 gp120. Produced by immunizing sheep with the gp120 protein sequence of the BH-10 strain, this antibody targets the most dominant subtype of HIV-1 seen in the Americas, Western Europe, and Australasia – subtype B.

Since the first reported cases in 1981, HIV continues to be a major public health issue with over 38 million people living with the infection worldwide, 7 million of whom are unaware they have the infection. Although there are successful treatments now available for managing HIV, there are still consistently large numbers of people becoming newly infected, with almost 2 million adults and over 150,000 children becoming infected with the virus each year. This indicates just how essential the development of a vaccine is for the establishment of long-term control of the virus. According to UNAIDS, it is estimated that a vaccine with just 50% effectiveness could have a major impact on the epidemic and would also dramatically cut the costs associated with the current treatment - lifelong antiretroviral therapy. Vaccine development efforts are focused on the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env), a trimer consisting of three gp120 and gp41 subunits. However, further research is needed here, as the major problem for vaccine development is the intrinsic metastability of this Env which is necessary for its membrane fusion.

“Aalto Bio Reagents continually strives to support the HIV research community in their quest to develop a HIV vaccine.” says CEO of Aalto Bio Reagents, Philip Noone, “HIV-1 is the most common and contagious of the HIV viruses, accounting for about 95% of infections, so we are excited to be able to supply this antibody, which specifically targets the HIV-1-encoded surface glycoprotein, at a very competitive price for research globally.”

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