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Letter From the Editor
Dear LAL User,
In this issue of the LAL Update, we look at the significance of endotoxin to cellular and tissue based therapies. This important topic shares some concepts with the article on biotechnology in LAL Update vol.16, no. 1. We also include a brief but important article on CSE Potency, Test Variability and LAL Reagent Label Confirmation.

Last year the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) published in Pharmacopeial Forum (PF) (volume 33, number 3) a revision of the Bacterial Endotoxins Test (BET) chapter. This is a stage 4 draft. When the revision was published, we expected it to be a major topic for an LAL Update article. However, despite the appearance of a complete rewrite, there are no fundamental changes to the chapter. The principles that were established in the BET revision in the second supplement to USP 24, when the harmonized chapter was published, remain unchanged. However, I urge you to look at the draft in PF so that you are aware of the subtle differences from the BET in USP 30.

All of us at Associates of Cape Cod thank you for your business. We wish you the very best for 2008.

Sincerely,
Michael E. Dawson, Ph.D., RAC