NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Research reagents company Rockland Immunochemicals today said it has purchased the Epi-Plus antibody product line from 21st Century Biochemicals for an undisclosed amount.
Epi-Plus antibodies are used for epigenetics research and have been validated by multi-assay methods, including dot blot testing using modified peptide arrays, Western blots, and chromatin immunoprecipitation.
Rockland said that studies have indicated that epigenetic pharmaceuticals may be a putative replacement or adjuvant therapy for current methods such as radiation and chemotherapy and noted that the global market for epigenetics is estimated to reach $8 billion by 2017, compared to $2.6 billion in 2012.
Jim Fendrick, president and CEO of Rockland, said in a statement that the deal expands the firm's life science tools portfolio "and will allow our customers to perform their research in a more efficient and effective manner, ultimately saving time and precious research dollars." He also said that the Epi-Plus brand is co-owned by Novus Biologicals, which will allow Rockland to expand its brand worldwide.
In December Gilbertsville, Penn.-based Rockland purchased the Trueblot IP/Western blot product line from Affymetrix's eBioscience business.