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All about antibodies
May 2013
EDIT CONNECT
SHARING OPTIONS:
ROCKVILLE, Md.—
In an effort to expand and enhance its
presence in the antibody market, OriGene Technologies Inc., a provider of genome-wide
products for research and diagnostic applications, recently signed an agreement
to acquire
all the assets of the life-science business of SDIX, a provider of
biotechnology-based products and services.
The expected commercial benefits are the advancement of
OriGene's capabilities to produce IVD-
grade antibodies and to better provide
the highest-quality antibodies available to the marketplace, according to Dr.
Wei-Wu He, OriGene's chairman and
CEO.
OriGene was founded in 1996 as a "gene-centric" research
tool company, and its portfolio
includes cDNA clone collection, full-length
human proteins, high-throughput antibody production and Luminex assays. OriGene
now manufactures and sells
its genome-wide research and diagnostic products
worldwide and provides antibodies sold under the TrueMAB and UltraMAB
Antibodies brand names.
As a research tool company committed to the creation of the
largest commercial collection of full-length
human cDNAs in a standard
expression vector, OriGene's vision is to prepare comprehensive, genome-wide
research tools and technology platforms to
enable scientists to study complete
biological pathways, thus enabling a better understanding of disease mechanisms
including cancer and stem cell
research. The availability of the complete human
genome sequence and the subsequent development of genome-based tools have
enabled the identification
of relevant drug targets through system biology
approaches. OriGene uses a high-throughput, genome-wide approach to develop
products for
pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic research, with complete
molecular biology services from codon optimization, gene synthesis and protein
expression and assay development.
OriGene, with operations in the United States and China,
anticipates that "the combination of SDIX with OriGene will enhance our ability
to continue to develop the most comprehensive collection of high-
quality
monoclonal antibodies for key applications both in research and diagnostics
fields," says He.
SDIX supplies antigens, antibodies and assays for the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets. In the life-science market, SDIX's
technology
and capabilities are being used to help discover disease mechanisms,
facilitate development of new drugs and provide antibodies and assays for the
diagnosis of disease. SDIX's core technologies—proprietary genetic immunization
technology and IVD reagent capabilities—will help expand OriGene's
previously
announced strategy to further develop the UltraMAB product line, according to
He. UltraMAB, launched in March 2013, is a line of
"specificity-verified"
monoclonal antibodies, exclusively available from OriGene and developed for IHC
applications.
He expects the acquisition of SDIX to enhance OriGene's
capabilities to provide the most comprehensive immunization
strategies for
antibody development using full-length mammalian produced protein and genetic
immunization technologies and to expand antibody and IVD
reagent product and
services capabilities to create significant new commercial opportunities for
existing and new customers. He says he believes the
"transaction will uniquely
position OriGene as one of the leaders in antibody development and production
to help our customers find the best solutions
for their antibody and assay
needs."
The $16-million deal adds SDIX's Advanced Genomic
Antibody
Technology, or GAT, to the technologies and global operations of OriGene,
including OriGene's extensive array of ultra-specific monoclonal
antibodies
called UltraMAB, its proprietary high-density microarray technology for a wide
variety of antibody applications and its cDNA clone
collection, a searchable
gene bank of several thousand full-length human proteins. The timeframe for finalizing the
transaction and bringing Newark,
Del.-based SDIX into the fold is the second
quarter of 2013, pending SDIX shareholder approval.
SDIX says it expects
the acquisition to result in a broader
portfolio of products and services for customers and a wider reach into markets
that it "would be challenged to
achieve as a standalone business."
Francis DiNuzzo, SDIX's president and CEO, comments, "The
sale of our life-science business to OriGene is a natural progression for
SDIX." Steven Becker, chairman of the SDIX board of directors, says his
company
has sought "over the past few years" to create value for shareholders.
"We believe
this transaction is the best possible outcome
for our shareholders, employees and valued customers," he says.
OriGene says it plans to offer employment to "a substantial
majority" of employees in SDIX. Code: E051313 Back |
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