The story
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).
In 2019 Abcam moved its global headquarters to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, a leading hub for healthcare, science, and medical research.
On 28 August 2023, Danaher Corporation announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abcam for approximately $5.7 billion at $24 per share in cash. The acquisition process included shareholder approval in November 2023 and the completion of regulatory clearances later that month. The acquisition was completed on 6 December, following approval by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. As a result, Abcam became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Danaher, and its shares ceased trading on Nasdaq after the completion of the deal.
From Wikipedia’s article on Abcam, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.8