(Alliance News) - Abcam PLC on Thursday said it has purchased Applied StemCell Inc's gene editing platform and oncology product portfolio for an undisclosed sum.
Life sciences company Abcam said the deal "includes a portfolio of cell lines and the well-regarded AccuRef reference materials product line". StemCell's proprietary platform is used to create cell lines which have uses in "a broad range of diseases", including drug discovery.
Most cells have a finite number of divisions. However, in a cell line, cells will keep growing and dividing indefinitely, which makes them easier to study.
Abcam did not disclose financial terms of the deal, although it said the acquisition is "expected to have a minimal impact on revenue and earnings in the current financial year", which ends in June.
Cheri Walker, senior vice president of Corporate Development at Abcam, said: "This transaction expands and cements Abcam's position in the edited cell line market, bringing in one of the most widely deployed and technically successful cell engineering platforms into Abcam. The cell line market is in the early stages of development as a research tool, where the ready provision of more choice, with the right gene targets in the right cell lines, will allow the market to rapidly expand."
Shares in Abcam were down 0.1% at 1,405.00 pence in London in morning trading.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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