The UK-based company Abcam has announced a new partnership with EpiCypher, a provider of ChIC/CUT&RUN technology, to develop improved reagents for ChIC/CUT&RUN applications.
Traditionally, reproducibility issues have plagued research into gene regulation, especially when working with limited sample sizes or attempting to identify robust biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
In these contexts, variability in antibody performance and lack of application-specific validation can undermine data quality and reproducibility, creating bottlenecks in drug discovery and slowing progress in understanding disease biology.
The pair will combine Abcam’s antibody characterisation methods with EpiCypher’s CUTANA ChIC/CUT&RUN platform, which they say will enable researchers to "generate more accurate, reproducible epigenomic data with greater confidence in reagent performance."
The firms believe that this should help streamline workflows, reduce experimental risk and accelerate high-impact discoveries in gene regulation, biomarker development and precision medicine.
"By integrating these co-developed, high-quality datasets into our portfolio, we’re enabling scientists worldwide to move faster and further, with the assurance that our reagents will stand up to the most demanding and transformative chromatin research,” said Josh Johnson, VP, Product Management & Strategy at Abcam.
Dr Martis Cowles, CBO at EpiCypher, added: “EpiCypher has always prioritised rigour in developing technologies for chromatin profiling and that includes a meticulous approach to antibody validation, which is essential for accurate biological insights."
Through our co-development partnership with Abcam, we are tackling one of the biggest challenges in the field: identifying highly specific and efficient antibodies against transcription factors. Together, we're building the tools researchers need to unlock the next generation of epigenomic discoveries.
Abcam has already incorporated EpiCypher-generated ChIC/CUT&RUN data into its validation approach, giving scientists additional confidence in antibody performance for chromatin profiling applications.
