We all had to start somewhere, and this award recognises the young antibody company that has most impressed the rest of the sector in its first three years.
A judging panel from F1000Research considered entries for this award, and while recognising that entries to this category were very strong, the panel decided that a worthy recipient for Most Impressive Startup 2014 is St John’s Laboratory.
Speaking on behalf of the F1000Research judges, Associate Publisher Michael Markie said: “We selected St John’s Laboratory due to its efforts towards improving reproducibility through antibody validation which is aligned with our own goals.”
St John’s Laboratory is a startup company based in London, UK, which have been trading for just over a year.
St John’s Laboratory was started with the purpose of assisting in bioscience progress by supporting the scientific and medical community with top notch antibodies. Their main concern is being able to supply high quality antibodies that work first time, therefore avoiding loss of time and money.
The company focuses on antibodies for stem cell research, neuroscience research, and cell division and proliferation work. Through a consultancy arm of the business, St John’s Laboratory connects academic researchers with industrial partners and investors for funding and commercialisation.
Our judges at F1000Research were impressed by the company’s dedication to validation and reproducibility.
Those interested in this issue should see F1000Research’s recently launched antibody validation collection produced in collaboration with CiteAb. You can also access notes from the antibody validation forum, which was a gathering towards the end of 2014 of both academic researchers and leading antibody companies who actively discussed the current problems in the antibody market, as well as proposing future opportunities for improving the quality of antibodies.
Congratulations to St John’s Laboratory for its success with this award - and best wishes for a prosperous future as the company grows!
RUNNER UP: Absolute Antibody
Absolute Antibody also impressed our judges. The company is a privately funded startup which engineers antibodies for the biomedical research and diagnostics markets as well as for sequencing services. The company was founded in Oxfordshire in 2012, before moving its production facility to Redcar, Cleveland, in 2014 to accommodate for the growth of the company and increase production capacity. Through its board members and scientific advisors, Absolute Antibody is able to draw on decades of experience in the life sciences, both academic and commercial, particularly in the fields of traditional antibody production and engineering, and with this expertise behind it the company is striving to revolutionise the way we view, produce and use antibodies. This young company is focusing on developing new technologies, putting it in a strong position to realise its full potential and to succeed in a competitive market. We look forward to seeing how they grow and progress over the next few years.
RUNNER UP: Tonbo Biosciences
Launched in January 2013 by a team of immunologists, researchers and industry leaders, Tonbo Biosciences came into the market with a highly disruptive business model - 30-50% lower list price than any competitor in the space. The company aims to serve the research community by offering equivalent performing products at a significantly reduced cost, allowing researchers to stretch their funding. The company has a competitive antibody portfolio for flow cytometry with over 2000 catalog products, including an expanded offering of recombinant proteins. Tonbo has grown its portfolio and revenue every quarter since launch.