Listed biopharmaceutical company GroPep Limited (ASX: GRO) today announced the launch of a new assay kit as part of its Cell Culture Products business. The kit provides a faster and more accurate way to measure LONGTMR3IGF-I, GroPep's growth factor supplement for the industrial manufacture of biopharmaceuticals.

The assay kit will support customer use and adoption of GroPep's leading product LONGTMR3IGF-I, an analogue of insulin-like growth factor I currently used in the manufacture of 7 internationally approved biopharmaceuticals that generated annual sales in excess of US$4.2 billion in 2005-06.

GroPep's new kit will help customers meet regulatory requirements by making it easier to reliably measure LONGTMR3IGF-I in their manufacturing processes.

Mr Greg Moss-Smith, VP Commercial Operations said "the speed and reliability of the kit is a substantial improvement over what was previously available and will help customers who need to make frequent and accurate measurements of LONGTMR3IGF-I to comply with biopharmaceutical manufacturing standards."

The new assay kit has been developed under GroPep's joint venture arrangement with ImmunoDiagnostic Systems Ltd (IDS, Boldon, UK). Under the agreement GroPep develops, produces and supplies antibodies and antigens to IDS who develop and manufacture assay kits. The companies share the marketing rights for the kits manufactured and sold under the agreement.