Peer-Reviewed JVIM Study Validates Bionote's Vcheck Foal IgG Test for Point-of-Care Screening of Passive Transfer in Newborn Foals

Five-Minute Foal IgG Screening Enables Faster Intervention When Every Hour Counts

BIG LAKE, MINN. (October 19, 2026) – Bionote USA is proud to announce the publication of a validation study of the Vcheck Foal IgG test in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM), the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). The study evaluated the test as a point-of-care tool for identifying failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) in neonatal foals.

FTPI leaves newborn foals more vulnerable to sepsis, septic arthritis, respiratory disease and other serious infections. Radial immunodiffusion (RID), the reference method for measuring immunoglobulin G (IgG), takes 18 to 24 hours to complete. Common stall-side tests report IgG in broad categories and rely on visual interpretation.

The prospective study enrolled 42 neonatal Thoroughbred foals from 18 commercial breeding farms, sampled within 24 hours of birth. Vcheck Foal IgG results on the V200 analyzer were compared with RID, read by laboratory personnel blinded to the Vcheck results.

Key findings included:

• Strong correlation with RID in serum within the assay's 100–1000 mg/dL range (R² = 0.91)

• High precision, with mean coefficients of variation of 1.97% within runs and 3.02% between runs

• High diagnostic accuracy for FTPI, with areas under the ROC curve of 0.988 to 1.000 across serum, plasma and whole blood

• A quantitative IgG result in approximately five minutes from whole blood, serum or plasma

The authors concluded that the test showed good agreement with RID for FTPI classification and could be suitable as a point-of-care screening tool, while noting it is not interchangeable with RID for exact quantitative measurement. Because the study included a limited number of FTPI-positive foals, they recommended cautious interpretation and a larger confirmatory study.

"Early, objective information on passive transfer helps veterinarians decide quickly which foals need intervention. We're pleased to see the Vcheck Foal IgG test evaluated in a peer-reviewed study and published in JVIM," said Bionote CEO Ryan Kim.

The full open-access article, "Evaluation of a lateral flow immunoassay for the quantitative measurement of immunoglobulin G in foals compared with radial immunodiffusion" (Sohn Y, et al.), is available at https://doi.org/10.1093/jvimsj/aalag216.

Disclosure: Bionote, Inc. manufactures the Vcheck Foal IgG test, coordinated sample collection, performed the laboratory testing and covered article processing charges. Two co-authors are affiliated with Bionote's R&D Center. According to the authors, Bionote had no role in study design, statistical analysis, data interpretation or manuscript preparation.

For more information on the Vcheck Foal IgG Biomarker test, visit https://www.bionote.com/vcheck-foal-igg