MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota [March 1st, 2016] – Bio-Techne Corporation announced today that its R&D Systems® and Novus Biologicals® brands are now corporate partners of the Affinity Binder Knockdown Initiative. The global initiative is based on a crowd-sourcing model and provides independent, peer reviewed validation of antibody specificity via knockdown data submitted by independent researchers.
Started in 2015, the Affinity Binder Knockdown Initiative is supported by the European Proteomics Association (EuPA) and the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO). Established under the aegis of Antibodypedia, a publicly available online resource established to allow sharing and comparison of antibody validation data, the Knockdown Initiative provides a systematic platform for handling of data in a completely free and open source. Knockdown validation of antibody specificity involves creating a control in which expression of the target protein is greatly reduced or eliminated, and is a widely accepted method for showing antibody specificity. “Giving researchers access to their peers’ data will greatly enhance their ability to choose an antibody that is likely to be successful in their experimental design,” says Birte Aggeler, Director of Antibody Development at R&D Systems.
“R&D Systems and Novus have always put customer success at the front of our product development and support efforts. We are actively looking for ways to address antibody performance issues that are problematic for researchers. While we have rigorous standards for selecting and validating our own products, we also want to support a more general solution. The open access, peer reviewed nature of the Knockdown Initiative makes this especially important to us and we appreciate the opportunity to partner with Antibodypedia to provide this information to all life science researchers.”
About Bio-Techne
Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne products assist scientific investigations into biological processes and the nature and progress of specific diseases. They aid in drug discovery efforts and provide the means for accurate clinical tests and diagnoses. With thousands of products in its portfolio, Bio-Techne generated approximately $452 million in net sales in fiscal 2015 and has approximately 1,500 employees worldwide. For more information on Bio-Techne and its brands, please visit www.bio-techne.com.
About R&D Systems
R&D Systems®, a Bio-Techne brand, has been serving the research community for over 35 years with quality reagents that enable life science research. It was one of the first companies to make cytokines commercially available in the late 1970s. Its product portfolio has expanded to become a world leader in immunoassays as well as a producer of antibodies, arrays, stem cell products, cell selection and other cell biology tools. For more information, visit http://www.rndsystems.com.
About Novus Biologicals
Novus Biologicals®, a Bio-Techne brand, accelerates scientific discovery by developing and marketing unique products in the forefront of science. Novus Biologicals provides primary antibodies, secondary antibodies, conjugated antibodies and proteins to the bioscience community. All of its products are 100% guaranteed to conform to the application claims listed on the datasheet. Novus Biologicals is committed to innovation and has formed and will continue to form ongoing partnerships with leading researchers. For more information visit http://www.novusbio.com.
