Taconic and CLEA Japan, Inc. Sign Agreement to Produce and Distribute Animal Models

HUDSON, NY and TOKYO--(Marketwire - August 20, 2012) -

Taconic, a leading provider of life sciences solutions for in vivo studies, and CLEA Japan, Inc., a major supplier of laboratory rodents, animal diets and equipment, announced that they have agreed to grant rights for CLEA to produce Taconic rats and mice in Japan and for Taconic to produce CLEA’s rats and mice in Europe and North America. This follows upon a distribution agreement signed in October 2010 which granted CLEA exclusive rights to distribute Taconic’s Transgenic Models (TTMs) in Japan. The new agreement enables each party to produce and sell the other party’s stocks and strains. Adherence to common practices for health, genetic and phenotype monitoring will assure researchers of minimal variation between animals produced in Japan, North America and Europe.

“Since execution of the Distribution agreement with Taconic almost 2 years ago the demand for Taconic Transgenic Models has increased steadily in Japan despite low economic growth due to the East Japan earthquake disasters in 2011. CLEA would like to contribute more to researchers conducting in vivo studies by introducing mouse and rat strains used by scientists worldwide. Many of our clients have asked us to produce in Japan many of the strains that are used globally. It is now our pleasure to announce that CLEA will produce the C57BL/6NTac in Japan. By introducing some of Taconic’s unique systems of production and quality control, we are confident that we can offer better services with high quality animals,” said Fukushi Taguchi, president of CLEA Japan.

The Taconic C57BL/6NTac mouse is an internationally recognized inbred strain. It is the genetic background for thousands of genetically modified mouse models (GMM’s) including those engineered at Taconic’s subsidiary, TaconicArtemis GmbH and the former Xenogen BioScience unit acquired in 2009. More recently, C57BL/6NTac Embryonic Stem Cell (ESC) lines have been generated and used by the IKMC (International Knockout Mouse Consortium) and International Mouse Phenotyping Centers. The C57BL/6NTac strain is also used in obesity, inflammation and autoimmune disease research with models such as the Diet Induced Obese (DIO), Collagen Induced Arthritis (CIA) models and Experimental Autoimmune Encephalitis (EAE). Taconic’s B6 lacks the Nnt (Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase) mutation, found in other B6 sub-strains, which is known to cause mitochondrial dysfunction.

“As the demand for this inbred strain increased worldwide, Taconic responded with a licensing agreement that enables Japanese researchers to gain access to the C57BL/6NTac through CLEA, a Japanese distributor that is highly-regarded for breeding and delivering high-quality models,” said Todd Little, president and chief executive officer of Taconic. “Extensive use of the C57BL/6NTac by laboratories generating gene targeted mice makes access to Taconic’s B6 strain especially important for scientists concerned about the genetic background of mutant mice used in their studies.”

About CLEA Japan, Inc.
Based in Tokyo and founded in 1965, CLEA Japan, Inc. is the first company to mass produce Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) mice and rats in Japan and supply them to many bioscience companies and research institutes. CLEA also offers a broad array of contract research services using its highest quality laboratory animals and equipment as a total system supplier of laboratory animals. CLEA’s commitment is to provide the highest quality laboratory animals to the bioscience community for research and preclinical studies. For more information about CLEA Japan, visit www.clea-japan.com.

About Taconic
Taconic is a leading provider of life sciences solutions to researchers worldwide, offering innovative laboratory mice and rats and scientific services that facilitate in vivo studies and advance drug discovery. Taconic’s wide range of advanced solutions include custom genetically engineered model design, generation and production, imaging, off-the-shelf model repositories, contract research, custom breeding, genetic monitoring and health testing. Headquartered in New York’s Hudson River Valley, Taconic operates seven breeding facilities and three service laboratories in the U.S. and Europe and maintains a staff of over 1,000 scientific specialists committed to technological innovation. Additional information about Taconic is available at www.taconic.com.