New Antibody Collaboration for Cancer Research

Rockland Immunochemicals Inc. and Emory University today announced a collaboration to develop novel antibodies and antibody based tools for Cancer, Cell Signaling and Chromatin research. Rockland and Emory University researchers will jointly develop new antibody-based reagents capable of identifying targets for use on platform technologies currently used in research and clinical laboratories.

“The Rockland and Emory relationship brings together and leverages the distinct perspectives of scientists from academia and the private sector. Fundamental research is on a continuum with applied research and Rockland, with its global distribution network, has the ability to commercialize discoveries rapidly. This agreement continues to validate our business strategy and antibody platform,” commented James Fendrick, CEO and President of Rockland Immunochemicals. “The combination of basic research and applied research is consistent with our goal to work with life science researchers to identify bioreagents that limit the pace of research. We are confident with and excited about the team in place”.

“We have used the expertise at Rockland for many years to develop terrific antibody reagents for our basic science projects to understand how the immune system functions. This new collaboration/partnership will allow novel reagents to be developed for both basic science research and ultimately translational applications.” continued Dr. Jeremy M. Boss, Professor and Chair, Microbiology & Immunology, Emory University, School of Medicine.

Despite significant progress in understanding disease at the molecular level, the complexity of the over 200 diseases that comprise “cancer” is a daunting barrier to developing the interventions needed to diagnose, treat, and prevent disease. Vital to progress in this arena is the discovery and understanding of cancer-specific aberrations at the molecular and cellular level. Often, early detection is vital to successful treatment; therefore, the identification and validation of antibodies to relevant biomarkers is paramount.