• Long-term partnership to facilitate cancer research through development of custom antibodies
• Agreement to enable global access to resulting reagents and potential diagnostics

London, UK and Cambridge, UK – 07 July 2020: Today, Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent funder of cancer research and Abcam plc, a global innovator in life science reagents and tools, are pleased to announce a new partnership for the development and commercialization of novel custom antibodies to support the acceleration of cancer research.

Under the terms of the partnership, Abcam will develop custom protein-based reagents to targets identified by Cancer Research UK-funded researchers. The resulting antibodies will support research to further the understanding of cancer biology, help generate new diagnostic tools, and potentially be the basis for novel therapies.

Tony Hickson, CBO at Cancer Research UK, said: “We are excited to be partnering with Abcam to expand our access to biological reagents and to create the tools our scientists need to help accelerate our understanding of cancer. Abcam’s antibody development capabilities and “end-to-end” expertise will help provide our researchers with antibody reagents that can be applied from early-stage R&D right through to the clinic.”

Dr John Baker, SVP Product Portfolio Innovation at Abcam, commented: “We are proud to be working with Cancer Research UK to support their scientists and to provide them with access to specific and validated reagents to help them achieve their next breakthrough faster.“

Abcam will, upon request, supply unique antibodies developed within the terms of the agreement to Cancer Research UK-funded researchers for an agreed period of exclusivity in relation to that antibody. Subsequently, Abcam’s global supply capability and co-location in major technology hubs throughout the world will enable these innovative reagents to be made readily accessible to the wider research and diagnostic development community.

Notes to Editors

About Cancer Research UK’s Commercial Partnerships Team

Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Cancer Research UK’s specialist Commercial Partnerships Team works closely with leading international cancer scientists and their institutes to protect intellectual property arising from their research and to establish links with commercial partners. Cancer Research UK’s commercial activity operates through Cancer Research Technology Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cancer Research UK. It is the legal entity which pursues drug discovery research in themed alliance partnerships and delivers varied commercial partnering arrangements.

About Cancer Research UK

• Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research.
• Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives.
• Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.
• Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer for at least 10 years.
• Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
• Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK’s vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

For further information about Cancer Research UK’s work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Abcam

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 twelve sites globally, many of Abcam’s 1,400+ strong team are located in the world’s leading life science research hubs, complementing a global network of services and support.

To discover more, please visit www.abcam.com and www.abcamplc.com.

Media contacts

At Cancer Research UK:

Angharad Kolator Baldwin
Science Media
T: +44 (0)203 469 8300
E: Angharad.KolatorBaldwin@cancer.org.uk

At Abcam:

Dr Lynne Trowbridge
Vice President, External Communications
T: +44 7815 167026
E: external.comms@abcam.com

Dr Priya Kalia
Senior Consultant, External Communications
T: +44 (0)7703 769299
E: external.comms@abcam.com