Trypsinogen Activation Peptide (TAP) is a penta-peptide that is released during the activation of pancreatic trypsin from the pro-enzyme trypsinogen. Inappropriate trypsin activation (with associated TAP release) is believed to be one of the initiating events in severe acute pancreatitis. The presence of TAP in body fluids is a sensitive and specific indicator of inappropriate trypsinogen activation and so of severe pancreatitis. Urinary and plasma TAP are valuable biomarkers for severe acute pancreatitis resulting from, for example: endoscopic retrograde cholagiopancreatography (ERCP), gallstones, and alcohol induced pancreatitis. TAP is a stronger predictor of severe acute pancreatitis than amylase and much easier to use than the APACHE clinical score. TAP has further advantage in that it can be used to study pancreatitis in many species such as rats and dogs. Previously, TAP was difficult to measure, but the speed and convenience of the Biotrin TAP EIA kit now makes the advantages of TAP widely available. TAP has recently been shown to be an elevated marker in pancreatic cancer.

Acute pancreatitis occurs when inappropriate activation of enzymes, especially proteases, occurs in the pancreas. These start a cascade reaction of further enzyme activation resulting in autolysis of the pancreas and surrounding tissues. Severe acute pancreatitis causes intense pain and morbidity and has a mortality of 5-10%. For optimal therapy, rapid diagnosis is essential, but serum amylase, and other biochemical tests, are poor at distinguishing between mild and severe disease. Missed diagnosis of severe acute pancreatitis can lead to increased morbidity while false positive diagnoses will lead to unnecessary procedures and increased costs. The Biotrin TAP EIA kit is a simple laboratory test that can reliably exclude severe acute pancreatitis. The simplicity and effectivity of the TAP assay and its NPV was analysed as part of a European multicentre clinical trial with excellent results.