Abcam and Roche have entered an agreement that will let Abcam sell 760 new antibodies to researchers worldwide through its online platform.
Inspired by Amazon, Abcam has become one of Europe’s biggest biotechs by building a platform to make it easier for researchers to order the antibodies they need for their experiments. A new deal with Roche will expand its portfolio, which currently comprises over 120,000 products that also include reagents for many common biology experiments. The company has obtained exclusive rights to the whole portfolio of Spring Bioscience Corporation, a California-based biotech that was acquired by Roche in 2007.
Abcam will start selling Spring’s antibodies from February 21. The portfolio includes 243 rabbit antibodies optimised for immunochemistry in addition to over 500 other antibodies. And, as Spring continues developing new antibodies, the antibody seller will have the rights to all products that Roche decides to commercialize. For its part, Roche retains the rights to use the antibodies for internal research and their development as diagnostic tools. Financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Since 2011, Abcam has been shifting towards developing its own antibodies and acquiring other antibody-maker companies to increase its portfolio. This new deal with Roche adds to the acquisitions of AxioMx, Firefly BioWorks, Epitomics, Ascent Scientific and MitoSciences that the company has closed int he last few years.
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