AbD Serotec, the UK-based antibody research and custom manufacturing company acquired by MorphoSys in 2006, has opened its brand new offices this week in Kidlington Oxfordshire, more than doubling its available research and production space.
The new 5,542 sq ft (2,200 sq m) premises is now the AbD Serotec headquarters, from which the company will market more than 10,000 antibodies, immunological reagents and custom monoclonal antibodies for use in the research and diagnostics market. These include products of the former Antibodies by Design as well as Serotec, Biogenesis and Oxford Biotechnology, which are now owned by the German company MorphoSys. Included in the product mix is MorphoSys" own HuCAL Libray of antibodies.
AbD Serotec, which was previously located in several old buildings in close proximity to the new offices, now employs over 70 people in Kidlington but also has offices in North Carolina and New Hampshire in the US, Duesseldorf in Germany, Paris, France and Hamar, Norway.
The offices were opened by UK Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Malcolm Wicks. The minister welcomed the investment by MorphoSys, which he said links two of Europe's most successful biotech clusters. The Oxfordshire biocluster is home to over 150 organisations engaged in biotechnology and healthcare. In Germany, the Munich biotech region "has some 160 life science companies.
MorphoSys ceo Dr Simon Moroney said: "The UK represents one of the top three markets for our research antibody segment operating under the AbD Serotec brand, a strong presence in this region will remain a key element of our future strategy."
The custom monoclonal antibodies generated by AbD Serotec are for non-therapeutic applications using HuCAL. This technology allows novel antibodies to be generated within eight weeks, significantly faster than the current market standard and without the use of animals. The company also offers a contract manufacturing service producing antibodies from 10milligram to 10g or more in scale.