Portfolio Signing Brings Research Opportunities

Under the terms of an agreement with Roche, Abcam plc has announced that it has obtained rights, for research use only (RUO), to the product portfolio of Spring Bioscience Corporation, comprising a total of approximately 760 unique products. Roche, which acquired Spring in 2007, will retain the antibody development capabilities and rights pertaining to the Spring Portfolio for internal research, companion diagnostic and IVD uses.

The core portfolio consists of 243 recombinant rabbit monoclonal antibodies, branded Spring Proprietary Clones (SP Clones), which have been optimised for immunohistochemistry (IHC). In addition to the SP Clones, the agreement covers approximately 500 additional products, predominantly other monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies which are expected to be available from Abcam. It has also been granted exclusive RUO rights for all future products developed by Spring that Roche requests to be commercialised in the RUO field of use for an initial period of 10 years and then extendable on mutually agreeable terms.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Alan Hirzel, CEO of Abcam, said:” This agreement represents an exciting step in the ongoing collaborative and long-term relationship between Abcam and Roche. By incorporating the Spring Bioscience antibodies into our portfolio, we will be able to better assist our customers, providing them with more products for their most important targets, faster. Abcam is excited to partner with Spring Bioscience, commonly recognised as a leading manufacturer of IHC antibodies, furthering Abcam’s mission to provide customers with the highest quality recombinant antibodies for their research.”