Thermo Fisher Scientific has expanded its LABScreen™ Single Antigen ExPlex Portfolio with the launch of LABScreen Single Antigen HLA Class II ExPlex – Group 2, a new panel designed to broaden HLA-DQ coverage for transplant antibody assessment. This product supports laboratories managing complex transplant cases, including antibody assessment for complex or sensitized patients.
Antibody detection plays a central role across the transplant journey, from patient-donor matching to post-transplant monitoring. Thermo Fisher Scientific notes that conventional HLA antibody testing has traditionally focused on antigen-level reactivity, while epitope- and eplet-based analysis has drawn increasing attention as a more refined approach to understanding alloimmune responses.
“HLA-DQ antibodies have become an area of increasing clinical focus, with growing evidence linking them to transplant rejection,” comments Dave Lowe, senior director, research and development, transplant diagnostics, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “By expanding HLA-DQ coverage within an existing workflow, laboratories can support better-informed matching decisions before transplant and more comprehensive monitoring after, where earlier detection of donor-specific antibodies can make a meaningful difference for patients.”
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The new panel adds 27 HLA-DQ antigens and heterodimer combinations to the existing 24-bead ExPlex offering, creating a 51-bead extended panel. It enables assessment of up to 146 Class II Single Antigen Beads in a single well.
Thermo Fisher Scientific designed the extended ExPlex panel to combine in a single well with LABScreen Single Antigen assays, which the company identifies as the established standard for HLA antibody detection. The addition does not require extra time after assay setup.
The panel integrates directly into existing LABScreen Single Antigen workflows. According to Thermo Fisher Scientific, laboratories can expand HLA-DQ analytical capability without retraining staff, modifying workflows, or investing in new instrumentation.
Key users include histocompatibility and immunogenetics laboratories managing complex HLA antibody profiles, transplant laboratory directors and managers evaluating panel coverage against a diversifying global HLA database, transplant centers handling antibody assessment for complex or sensitized transplant cases, and transplant clinicians requiring more comprehensive HLA-DQ data.
LABScreen Single Antigen HLA Class II ExPlex – Group 2 is available now in the European Union under IVDR. Products are CE-marked for in vitro diagnostic use in the European Union. Availability depends on local regulatory authorization. The product is not available in the United States or Canada.
This article is based on a press release issued by Thermo Fisher Scientific.
