Two validated assays, a bridging ELISA and a luciferase-based bioassay, were compared for detection of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) against interferon-beta (IFN-beta) in patients with multiple sclerosis. Serum samples were tested from patients enrolled in a prospective study of 18 months.
In contrast to the ELISA, when IFN-beta-specific rabbit polyclonal and human monoclonal antibodies were tested, the bioassay was the more sensitive to detect IFN-beta ADA in patients' sera. For clinical samples, selection of method of ELISA should be evaluated prior to the use of a multi-tiered approach.
A titer threshold value is reported that may be used as a predictor for persistently positive neutralizing ADA.