Contract Antibody Production

We recognise that we are not the only company offering contract polyclonal antibody production, but we do pride ourselves on the quality of our service and the many years of experience which have led to our current optimised procedures.  If you were considering other suppliers for your contract antibody production, we would ask you to consider these points:

• We offer contracts for both the short-term (designed for research projects and academic institutions) and long term (suitable for production of diagnostics reagents).
• Our immunisation protocols have been developed to optimise antibody levels.  We usually find with sheep that the 6-week sample shows an excellent response, and that by the first bleed at 10 weeks, specific antibody levels are reaching 5-10 mg/mL.
• Using sheep, with their contractile spleens which can adapt to regular bleeding, we can obtain about 350 mL of serum at every bleed with no effect on the sheep’s health.  Thus on a short-term contract with 2 bleeds, the yield of specific antibody is in the region of 5g!
• With our bleeding schedule, the cost of specific antibody is in the region of 8 pence per mg – excellent value
• We can provide Certificates of Animal Health signed by our Veterinary Officer if required, particularly useful for overseas customers.
• All our facilities and associated fully documented procedures are maintained under UK Home Office Licences, with full involvement of a local Ethical Committee.
• We are delighted to give technical advice on presentation and doses of immunogens, any necessity of conjugation of immunogen to haptens and suitability of downstream purification steps (IgG purification and preparation of immunolgically active fragments Fab and F(ab’)2).
• MicroPharm itself has been making polyclonal antibodies for research and therapy for almost 10 years and our staff have been involved in these areas for longer than that. 

We believe that the benefits of our many years’ experience in the production of polyclonal antibodies, both for our own use and also for other organisations, will give you the best value for both cost and quality

Serum for Contract customers              All our procedures are covered by the relevant Home Office Licences (Establishment, Project and Personal) and an Ethical Review Process monitors our systems and any animal health and welfare issues. Veterinary Certificates can be supplied free of charge for all animals at the end of a contract. The table below gives some details of these services: There are no extra costs to the standard contracts except P&P. Per Sheep (short term) Per Sheep (long term) Contract cost £450.00p (£30.00p per week) £25.00p per week after 15 weeks    Time scale 15 weeks 16 weeks + Immunogen required For short term contracts we recommend 2.5 mg (1.0mg Primary + 3x0.5mg Re-immunisations) . However, this can be less depending on the immunogenicity of the antigen. Long term contracts continue with similar re-immunisations. Serum Samples ~ 5 mL at Preimmune week 0, week 6 Bleeds ~300 mL at week 10 and 14 Conjugation of immunogen Conjugation of immunogen £350 each for 1-3 immunogens £315 each for 4-6 immunogens Please enquire if further purification of sheep IgG is required (total IgG by precipitation, enzyme digestion to Fab or F(ab')2, ion exchange or affinity purification). We are very happy to discuss modifications to our schedules, but we must remain within the terms of our Home Office Licences.

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