Developed in collaboration with leading academic and industry scientists, pioneering platform designed to improve access to reproducible, validated antibodies

Addgene, a purpose-driven organization helping scientists conduct experiments with greater ease, speed, and reproducibility, today announced the publication of an antibody characterization platform that leverages Addgene’s antibody catalog to evaluate antibody specificity. The platform was published in the latest issue of Nature Protocols and was led by Carl Laflamme of the Montreal Neurological Institute (The Neuro), in collaboration with Addgene and 10 other major antibody manufacturers representing approximately 80% of global renewable antibody production. This new method marks the first large-scale collaboration among competitors in the antibody industry, with the initiative aiming to tackle a critical challenge in biomedical research reproducibility.

Antibodies are one of the most broadly used tools in scientific research, but among the 7.7 million produced by commercial manufacturers, many lack adequate specificity which can lead to false results and off-target effects. With an estimated $1 billion of research funding wasted annually on unvalidated antibodies, there is a critical need to improve access to reproducible and well-validated antibodies.

“At Addgene, we believe that only through partnership can we unlock the full potential of research. This collaborative effort to develop an antibody characterization platform has the potential to minimize research inefficiencies and drive invaluable biological discoveries for the improvement of human health,” said Chonnettia Jones, Ph.D., President and Executive Director of Addgene. “I look forward to leveraging these results to improve Addgene’s antibody catalog and recommendations, as well as seeing the scientific progress enabled by this novel platform.”

The antibody characterization platform was developed under the public good initiative YCharOS (Antibody Characterization through Open Science). For any given protein target, YCharOS compares all commercially available antibodies from its industry partners in unbiased, side-by-side testing across key applications such as western blot, immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence.

"The enthusiastic involvement of our partners demonstrates their commitment to providing only high-quality reagents to the research community," said Chetan Raina, CEO of YCharOS. “Organizations like Addgene are enabling us to set a new standard for antibody characterization and strengthen reproducibility across the industry.”

Addgene’s catalog of quality-controlled recombinant antibodies used in the study, in addition to its vast collection of plasmids and ready-to-use viral vectors, have been expertly curated by academic and industry researchers around the world. The organization’s collection of recombinant antibodies is available to request through the catalog on the Addgene website. For more information, visit https://www.addgene.org/antibodies/.

About Addgene

Addgene is a purpose-driven organization committed to accelerating discovery and innovation by helping scientists conduct experiments with greater ease, speed, and reproducibility. We are pioneers in scientific sharing, providing a vast catalog of expertly curated and quality-controlled plasmids developed by researchers around the world. We offer viral vector and recombinant antibody services built from the same trusted approach. Our dedicated team reduces barriers to scientific progress by facilitating material transfers and providing world-class educational resources. At Addgene, we care about building a globally connected scientific community collaborating and sharing seamlessly to unlock the full potential of research. For more information, visit https://www.addgene.org.

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