Abcam Plc is a producer, distributor and seller of protein research tools.

The company was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Milner with co-founders professor Tony Kouzarides and David Cleevely, with the idea of making it easier for research scientists to buy antibodies across the web.

Milner was a postdoctoral researcher studying the newly discovered breast cancer protein BRCA2 in Kouzarides’ Cambridge University laboratory. The project had slowed because of problems finding quality antibody reagents that had honest and up-to-date information about their uses and limitations. This scenario provided the motivation to form an on-line service that would help themselves and researchers across the globe.

Since its inception in 1998, the company has diversified from carrying only antibodies. It supplies antibody related products such as immunoassays (e.g. SimpleStep ELISA Kits), peptides, proteins and protein detection products (e.g. immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining kits). Abcam also has a portfolio of non-antibody related products such as biochemicals, cellular assays, and epigenetics kits (e.g. FirePlex Multiplex miRNA Kits).

Type:                     Public company

Traded as:           LSE: ABC

Industry:              Biotech, Life sciences

Founded:            1998

Headquarters:   Cambridge, United Kingdom

Products:             Research antibodies, kits and assays for biological research

Website:              www.abcam.com