Bio-Rad Laboratories
Scientist
on
March 30, 2021
This installment of Supplier Spotlight® is on Bio-Rad Laboratories, whose custom antibody generation services can provide researchers with sequence defined, well-characterized and application tested, non-animal-derived antibodies.
What is your company’s mission?
The mission of our custom antibody generation experts is to design and generate monoclonal antibodies that meet the precise requirements defined by our clients. Projects are managed by a dedicated team passionate about making antibodies and experts at what they do. Our objective is to provide antibodies that work in the desired application coupled with an experience that exceeds expectations.
The aims of our custom antibody division align with the overall mission of Bio-Rad to provide useful, high-quality products and services that advance scientific discovery and improve healthcare.
What products and services do you offer?
We offer our custom recombinant monoclonal antibody generation services through the Scientist.com platform.
Our service centers on the well-established and powerful HuCAL® antibody library and CysDisplay®, a proprietary method of phage display, combined with automated, high-throughput processes, which have been developed and enhanced by our own scientists since we first started offering this service in 2003.
We have incorporated SpyTag-SpyCatcher technology into our service to make TrailBlazer Antibodies. Combining HuCAL and SpyTag technologies provides our clients with an extensive antibody engineering toolbox that enables rapid development of selective, sensitive and robust assays.
What problems does your organization solve?
Our innovative technologies address multiple challenges. Most significantly, there is no need to wait 9 months for an immunization project or worry about lack of specificity, reproducibility or continuity of supply.
Our services bring:
- Rapid generation of highly specific Fab antibodies in as little as 8 weeks
- Isolation of antibodies against virtually any type of antigen — for instance, a biologic, drug-target complex, toxin, protein or peptide
- Conversion in just a few minutes to multiple Fab and immunoglobulin formats
- Site-directed conjugation with a consistent degree of labeling
- Antibodies identified by sequence, with long-term secure supply guaranteed
We enable clients to start work quickly with specific, reproducible, and sustainable critical antibody reagents.
What are the most innovative tools and technologies that you offer?
Our latest innovation is to combine SpyTag technology with recombinant antibody expression to introduce completely new versatility to antibodies.
The technology enables site-directed conjugation of antibodies and assembly into different stable antibody formats. Custom-made antibodies can be delivered in a variety of configurations at the outset, for testing in monovalent or bivalent Fab and full-length immunoglobulin formats, with a choice of isotypes and labels.
This allows the client to explore which antibodies work best in the desired applications on different technology platforms and enables rapid testing and development of multiple assays.
What are your competitive advantages?
Antibody specificity, superior performance and speed.
No other company offers antibody generation using the combination of HuCAL and SpyTag technologies. Using in vitro antibody phage display technology results in highly specific antibodies, designed to the client’s specifications, delivered in a few weeks. Incorporating a SpyTag dramatically increases the number of formats available immediately for all antibodies from a project. Because antibodies are conjugated in a site-specific manner, performance is improved, as the label cannot interfere with the binding of the antibody to its target.
One of our strengths is making specialized antibodies against biologics, such as inhibitory and non-inhibitory anti-idiotypic antibodies and drug-target complex-specific binders. These are ideal for PK assays, and as HuCAL antibodies are fully human, they are suitable as surrogate positive controls in ADA assays.
Who are your clients?
Our clients include:
- Large pharmaceutical, and small and medium biotech companies
- In vitro diagnostic and research assay manufacturers
- Cosmetic, food and environmental companies
- Academic and government research institutes
What new products and services are you developing in 2021?
In February 2021, we launched a super-fast antibody generation service. The ‘Fast Track Guided Selection Service’ delivers recombinant monoclonal antibodies in as little as 4 weeks!
This is a game-changer for clients under pressure to obtain critical antibody reagents rapidly, enabling them to make faster progress with their project and meet stringent deadlines.
Where are your laboratories and offices located?
All our custom antibody generation services are carried out at our facility near Munich, Germany. Clients are welcome to visit us to meet our scientists and see how the process works.
How has Scientist.com helped your business?
We are connecting with new clients already and look forward to a successful partnership.