British life science reagents and tools company Abcam said recently that it has signed an agreement to use BrickBio's proprietary bioconjugation platform to develop research and diagnostic products.

Abcam has also taken an undisclosed equity stake in BrickBio and will work with the company to further develop its platform.

Boston-based BrickBio's technology enables the site-selective modification of proteins in a range of eukaryotic and bacterial cell lines. According to Abcam, it can be used to incorporate unnatural amino acids into recombinant antibodies at specific sites, after which they can be coupled to additional molecules for labeling and other applications. 

Under the terms of the deal, Abcam will have the exclusive right to use the platform to create novel conjugation-ready recombinant products for the research tools market, as well as the right to commercialize the platform across its recombinant antibody and protein portfolio for diagnostic use. 

Additional terms were not disclosed.

"With one of the largest and highest quality recombinant antibody portfolios in the market, Abcam was a natural fit to be our exclusive partner to take our technology to scientific researchers," BrickBio CEO John Boyce said in a statement. "At the same time, BrickBio will focus on becoming a critical platform for therapeutic partners, enabling biopharma clients to solve difficult protein-based drug development needs [and] helping to build high performing protein therapeutics such as [antibody-drug conjugates] for controlled labeling and manufacturing."