Under the terms of the deal Sigma gains exclusive distribution rights in the US and all regions outside Europe, with co-exclusive distribution rights in Europe.
The aim is to produce at least one antibody to all 22,000 non-redundant human proteins by 2015.
The so-called Prestige Antibodies are well characterised, offering with each antibody highly validated for specificity and accompanied by over 500 immunohistochemical images, which are displayed in the publicly accessible Human Protein Atlas.
In addition, Prestige Antibodies are designed to have low cross-reactivity to other human proteins and to work in a variety of applications and tissue preparations.
"We are delighted to have been chosen as the exclusive distributor of Prestige Antibodies, and we expect to release substantial additions to the catalogue annually," said Dr. David Smoller, president of Sigma-Aldrich's Research Biotech business unit.
"By making these high quality and highly validated antibodies accessible to proteomics and cell biology researchers worldwide, Sigma-Aldrich is helping to further promote the study of disease."
Antibodies are assuming increasingly important roles in such diverse fields as sensors, proteomics, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The Antibody Library's main advantage is its speed in searching for new antibodies. It also promises to make the hunt less expensive.
In medical treatments, antibodies are being injected into the body to seek out specific proteins on cancerous cells, for example, and target treatment to those cells. Biowarfare detectors can use antibodies to locate proteins as a way of identifying harmful agents.
Antibodies also are expected to play a major role in helping scientists to more fully understand various biological processes by identifying which proteins are present and if they interact with any other proteins in the cell.
"Sigma-Aldrich offers a recognised brand name and an established distribution network that will help us bring our antibodies to market", said Marianne Hansson, co-founder and CEO of Atlas Antibodies.
"This partnership will enable Atlas Antibodies to reach all of the proteomics and cell biology researchers who will benefit from the unprecedented specification of the Prestige Antibodies."
Prestige Antibodies are developed using a universal immunohistochemistry (IHC) protocol. Using a universal IHC protocol for many tissue types allows the researcher to directly analyse samples without needing to optimise the antibody for different tissues.
As this protocol can be applied to many samples, the antibodies are well suited for high-throughput screening applications, providing significant time and cost savings for researchers.
