A life sciences company that relocated its lab operations to Wilton as part of growth plans has been endorsed by a world-leading science journal.
Experts say products from Absolute Antibody could help save millions of dollars currently being wasted in research projects.
The company, which manufactures antibodies for biomedical research, relocated from Oxfordshire to the Wilton Centre late last year. Its production methods have since been endorsed by more than 100 specialists in its field.
Writing in one of the leading international science publications ‘Nature’, authors of the article state that adopting the manufacturing process used by Absolute Antibody would avoid the “vast” waste of materials, researcher time and money in the area of biomedical research.
They estimate around US$350m is wasted annually in the United States alone by using poorly characterised and ill-defined antibodies.
Nick Hutchings, Absolute Antibody CEO, said that the article is very significant.
He said: “It is signed by 110 leading scientists in the field so it really packs a punch.
“It essentially says that everyone working with antibodies should be using products manufactured in the way that we manufacture them, and not the way they have been manufactured traditionally, and even goes so far as to mention our company by name.”
Antibodies are important proteins in the immune system, which allow cells of the immune system to recognise foreign particles, such as bacteria or viruses.
In research and diagnostics, antibodies are very useful reagents for detecting proteins ie cancer markers, doping or pregnancy testing and can also be labelled with fluorescent probes to visualise localisation of proteins in a cell.
Nick Hutchings explained: “One thing, however, with antibodies is that they are really poorly defined.
“This means that errors occur because you have very few ways of saying that antibody X used in a clinical study in London is the same antibody X they are using to replicate this study in Newcastle. This does happen - and costs millions.”
Absolute Antibody addresses this problem in the methods it uses to create antibodies.
Using a process advocated by the authors of the ‘Nature’ article, the company creates absolutely defined antibodies of the highest purity.
Nick Hutchings added: “So when we talk about our antibody X, someone halfway round the globe will know exactly what we mean.”
Absolute Antibody relocated to expand its business, doubling the size of its lab space in the process.
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