Transaction adds comprehensive gene editing capabilities and engine to drive expansion of Abcam's 'off-the-shelf' edited cell line portfolio

Cambridge, England and Milpitas, California (ots/PRNewswire) - Abcam plc, a
global innovator in life science reagents and tools, is today pleased to
announce the asset purchase of the gene editing platform and oncology product
portfolio of Applied StemCell, Inc. (ASC) for life science research and
diagnostic markets. ASC is a long-established leader in the edited cell lines
market, focused on developing genome editing technologies into novel
therapeutics to advance drug discovery.

Over the last eleven years ASC has established a global reputation for solving
the most difficult knock-out and knock-in cell line development challenges. They
have successfully deployed their proprietary cell editing platform to create
cell lines for a broad range of diseases to support the life science and
diagnostics industries as well as to advance therapeutic drug discovery.

The transaction includes a portfolio of cell lines and the well-regarded AccuRef
reference materials product line. The AccuRef product line (www.accuref.com)
uses ASC gene edited cell lines to mimic cancer mutations and create
biologically-relevant quality control and reference standards that span over 40
cancer genes. These materials are used by laboratories and kit providers for
next generation sequencing, sanger sequencing, PCR, and FISH/CISH testing.

Commenting on the transaction, Cheri Walker, SVP of Corporate Development at
Abcam, said: "We are excited to expand and cement Abcam's position in the edited
cell line market, bringing in one of the most widely deployed and technically
successful cell engineering platforms into the Abcam family. The cell line
market is in the early stages of development as a research tool, where the ready
provision of more choice, with the right gene targets in the right cell lines,
will allow the market to rapidly expand."

Abcam will expand the ASC platform to become its discovery engine for developing
novel edited cell lines, building upon the extensive range of knock-out cell
lines acquired through the Edigene transaction in 2019. Ready-made KO cell lines
play a significant role in the study and understanding of biological pathways
and disease models.

Ruby Tsai, Co-Founder and CSO of Applied StemCell, commented: "Following our
strategic decision to focus on stem cell and derivative service and products for
both research and therapeutic applications, we are pleased to be transitioning
our oncology focused services and products to the global team at Abcam. As
recognized industry leaders in the provision of biologic reagents and tools,
Abcam is ideally placed to provide expert support to our global user-base."

The transaction closed on January 28, 2020. During the transition period, both
parties will work together to ensure continuity of service and project delivery.
In addition, this exciting portfolio and cell engineering capability will be
deployed to further support Abcam's knock-out validation initiative, an integral
part of the organization's ongoing antibody quality initiative.

Notes to Editors

About Abcam plc

As a global life sciences company, Abcam identifies, develops, and distributes
high-quality biological reagents and tools that are crucial to research, drug
discovery and diagnostics. Working across the industry, the Company supports
life scientists to achieve their mission, faster.

Abcam partners with life science organizations to co-create novel binders for
use in drug discovery, in vitro diagnostics and therapeutics, driven by the
Company's proprietary discovery platforms and world-leading, antibody expertise.

By constantly innovating its binders and assays, Abcam is helping advance the
global understanding of biology and causes of disease, which enables new
treatments and improved health. The Company's pioneering data-sharing approach
gives scientists increased confidence in their results by providing validation,
user comments and peer-reviewed citations for its 110,000 products.

With eleven sites globally, many of Abcam's 1,100 strong team are located in the
world's leading life science research hubs, complementing a global network of
services and support.

To find out more, please visit www.abcam.com and www.abcamplc.com.

To learn more about the AccuRef product line visit www.accuref.com.

About Applied StemCell, Inc.

Applied StemCell, Inc. is a fast-growing biotechnology company with more than 11
years of experience in genome editing and stem cell technologies. Our mission is
to advance genome editing technology innovation to enable in vivo/in vitro
preclinical study as well as develop more efficacious and safer gene and cell
therapies.

More information can be found at www.appliedstemcell.com.

Logo(s): https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1061261/Abcam_Logo.jpg

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1084037/Applied_StemCell_Logo.jpg

Contacts

Media:
Abcam
Dr Lynne Trowbridge
Vice President, External Communications
T: +44 (0)781-516-7026
E: Lynne.Trowbridge@abcam.com

Additional content: https://www.presseportal.de/pm/140045/4506215
OTS: Abcam plc

Original-Content von: Abcam plc, übermittelt durch news aktuell