Pioneering genome editing techniques

Sigma-Aldrich Chemie is a global leader in genomic bio-technology diagnostics. Philip Yorke talked to Ian Jennings, the company’s director of marketing EMEA about its latest pioneering genome editing technology: ZFN, and its strategy for future growth.

Sigma-Aldrich is a leading life science and high technology company, whose chemical and biochemical products are used in a wide variety of scientific research projects including those for genomic and proteomic research, as well as for biotechnology and pharmaceutical development. Founded in 1934 in the USA in St Louis, Missouri, Sigma-Aldrich is a truly global concern with a major presence in more than 40 countries and over 8000 employees. The company is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Nasdaq:SIAL) and in 2011 posted sales of $2.3 billion.

Reaching new milestones in gene editing technology

Sigma-Aldrich recently announced a major breakthrough in the development of its proprietary ZFN Technology (CompoZr zinc finger nuclease), which provided the release of substantially more knock-out ZFNs than ever before and covering the entire genomes of both mice and rats. At the same time the company achieved significant cost reductions of around 50 per cent of its broad ZFN product portfolio through investment in advanced manufacturing techniques.

“We have recently restructured the company and established our European headquarters here in St Gallen, Switzerland, which has enabled us to become even more efficient and flexible in response to our customers in the EMEA countries,” Mr Jennings said. “Our chemical and biochemical products and kits are used by our customers in life science companies, universities, government institutions and hospitals. We probably have the largest and most diverse range of chemical and biochemical products in the world, with more than 120,000 entries in our catalogue. We are well known for our very high service levels and our commitment to quality and innovation and are currently focussed on the expansion of ‘whole gene manipulation’ product lines.”

Furthermore, the latest ‘zinc-finger technology’ (ZFN) products have recently won awards for innovation and efficacy and

are unique in the marketplace. “One of our fastest growing market sectors is in academia where we are major suppliers to many well-known universities and institutions,” remarked Mr Jennings. “Today these leading seats of learning are much more commercial in their research operations and partner with the big pharmaceutical companies and life science specialists such as ourselves.”

“As far as the future is concerned, we are projecting good growth in our European market sector whilst keeping the door open for acquisitions, and in fact recently acquired a leading biotech testing company in Maryland, USA,” Mr Jennings revealed. “However, the strongest growth prospects for us exist in the emerging Asian and Pacific-rim countries and Australasia. Most of our manufacturing capability resides here in Europe with three major facilities in Germany, one in Switzerland and three others in the UK. Although we have extensive R&D facilities in Switzerland, most of our bio-genetic research is carried out in the US.”

Today ZFN technology has been widely recognised as the most efficient and versatile method of genetic engineering for cell lines and whole organisms, offering precisely targeted, permanent and heritable modifications at a fraction of the time required using more traditional technologies. However, until the launch of Sigma’s latest ZFN technology, the high cost of manufacturing ZFNs has at times limited the research community’s access to this advanced technology. To address this issue, Sigma Life Science invested heavily in advancing both its design and production processes to drive down costs and also in an effort to help researchers accelerate scientific discovery.

Delivering the world’s most advanced neurobiological antibody arrays

A few months ago Sigma Life Science in the US launched its most comprehensive antibody array for neurodegenerative disorders and for neuronal development. George Lipscombe, market segment manager at Sigma Life Science said: “The neurological community is moving quickly towards investigating how networks of proteins affect brain development and function. However, few multiplexed immunoassay tools exist for surveying panels of neuronal proteins and their expression levels. Those tools that do exist have been limited in breadth of targets represented and focused narrowly on specific diseases.”

However, the Panorama Neurobiology Antibody Array from Sigma Life Science enables, within a single day, direct comparisons of neuronal protein expression patterns using a variety of serum, cell or tissue extracts derived from humans, mice or rats.

The unique Sigma-Aldrich array of 224 polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies are spotted in duplicate, high-density spots on a nitrocellulose-coated slide specially treated to reduce background fluorescence. Antibodies in the array are also available separately from the Sigma Life Science catalogue of more than 50,000 antibodies. The company’s catalogue includes more than 11,000 prestige antibodies, which with over 700 images generated per antibody by the Human Protein Atlas project, are considered among the most highly characterised antibodies available. Quality is further backed up by the company’s ‘Sigma Bioguarantee’ which offers a full credit replacement for any antibodies that do not meet published performance expectations. n For more information about the Sigma Life Science antibodies collection simply visit www.sigma.com/antibodies