ABC.L Regulatory News (ABC)

3 Jan 2007 07:00

ABCAM Plc03 January 2007 For immediate release 3 January 2007 ABCAM PLC ("Abcam" or "the Company") Japanese Subsidiary Ships First Orders Abcam plc (AIM: ABC), the rapidly growing company that markets antibodies viaits own online catalogue, is pleased to announce that the first antibody ordershave been successfully shipped from the Company's new sales operation in Japan,the world's third largest market for research antibodies. Abcam's Japanese sales operation is now fully operational just a short periodafter the initial opening of the Company's Japan office, as announced on 5September 2006. Key initial members of staff are Ichiro Sato, an experienced marketing managerin the sector with extensive local knowledge and market intelligence, and NickLines, a UK national who has worked in Japan for a number of years and isheading up Abcam's Japan office. To provide an optimum service in the region,Abcam has developed a localised Japanese version of its website www.abcam.co.jpand has improved the website speed in the Far East to manage the increasedcapacity. The new Japanese operation not only provides access to product sales in newmarkets but also allows the Company to offer 24-hour worldwide customer supportdue to the different global time zones of the Company's offices in the UK, USand Japan. Commenting on the announcement, Jonathan Milner, Abcam's Chief ExecutiveOfficer, said: "We are delighted that Abcam has successfully started shippingout of the Japan subsidiary, which we expect to enhance relations that havealready been developed with existing distributors in the Japanese area andaccess new products and customers directly. The Japan office will not onlyallow Abcam to increase its product and customer base but will open doors tolocal collaborations." -End- For further information please contact: Abcam plc + 44 (0) 1223 696000Jonathan Milner, Chief Executive OfficerEddie Powell, Chief Financial Officerwww.abcam.com Buchanan Communications + 44 (0) 20 7466 5000Mark Court/Mary-Jane Johnson Notes for editors About Abcam plc Abcam is a producer and distributor of research-grade antibodies headquarteredin Cambridge, UK, with a US office located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Abcamwas admitted to AIM in November 2005 and trades under the ticker symbol ABC.The Company produces and distributes its own and third party produced antibodiesto academic and commercial users throughout the world with product informationprovided and ordering available through the Company's website, www.Abcam.com.The antibodies are sold almost entirely under the Abcam brand name. TheCompany's vision is to build the largest online antibody resource in the worldwhile also ensuring that the antibodies are of high quality and commerciallyviable. Abcam now has an online catalogue of 25,000 products, most of which areantibodies, from over 200 suppliers supported by up-to-date and detailedtechnical data sheets, which are created by the Company. The Company currentlyemploys 100 staff. About antibodies Antibodies are proteins produced by white blood cells in response to theintroduction of a foreign body known as an antigen. Antibodies, which have awide variety of uses in research, diagnostics and therapeutics, are used bybioscientists in research into disease and into the human genome, where they areused to mark and identify specific cells and other living matter. The number ofhuman antibodies of use in research is potentially greater than one million. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange