ST. LOUIS, Oct. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ: SIAL) today announced it
has entered into an exclusive agreement with the Wellcome Trust
Sanger Institute to manufacture and distribute the Sanger
Institute's arrayed lentiviral CRISPR library. The library will be
the first of its kind, providing researchers with a collection of
individual clones designed to knock out every known human and mouse
protein-coding gene using the CRISPR system.
Since its discovery two years ago, the use of CRISPR technology
is becoming ubiquitous in molecular biology labs around the world.
By using CRISPR to precisely knock out single genes in cellular and
animal models, researchers can identify critical components in
basic biology, particularly as they relate to understanding the
genetic underpinnings of disease onset and progression.
"The Sanger Institute is devoted to producing research findings
and resources that help to improve our understanding of biology and
healthcare. The CRISPR technology will play an increasingly
important role in achieving this objective," says Emmanouil
Metzakopian, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at the Wellcome Trust
Sanger Institute. "A key part of that ambition is to deliver that
understanding and those resources into the hands of other
researchers. Partnering with a company committed to furthering this
technology in the way that Sigma-Aldrich has been was the best way
to accomplish this goal."
"Sigma-Aldrich is excited about the timing and synergy of this
collaboration," said Shawn Shafer,
Ph.D., Functional Genomics Manager for Sigma-Aldrich. "The Sanger
Institute is renowned for the scope and quality of its scientific
endeavors, and it is leading the way once again with the creation
of these whole genome arrayed lentiviral CRISPR libraries.
Sigma-Aldrich has been working in
the genome editing field for more than a decade, and we are excited
to partner with an organization that shares the same vision and
passion for the technology. The Sanger CRISPR library could lead to
the discovery of novel drugs or unknown mechanisms of disease, and
Sigma-Aldrich looks forward to getting this important tool into
researchers' hands."
Sigma-Aldrich plans to launch
the glycerol and lentiviral versions of the Sanger Institute human
CRISPR library in 2015. Preorders are being accepted for all
versions of the library with priority given to members of
Sigma-Aldrich's CRISPR Core lab partnership. The addition of the
Sanger CRISPR collection to its portfolio continues Sigma-Aldrich's
history of making and supporting lentiviral screening libraries.
Sigma-Aldrich is the sole
manufacturer of the complete Mission® shRNA library, a
compilation of more than 330,000 clones that is the largest, most
distributed shRNA library in the world. Sigma-Aldrich also has extensive genome-editing
experience and was the first company to commercially offer genome
editing reagents (zinc finger nucleases) to the global research
community.
About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich, a leading Life
Science and Technology company focused on enhancing human health
and safety, manufactures and distributes 250,000 chemicals,
biochemicals and other essential products to more than 1.4 million
customers globally in research and applied labs as well as in
industrial and commercial markets. With three distinct business
units - Research, Applied and SAFC Commercial - Sigma-Aldrich is
committed to enabling science to improve the quality of life. The
Company operates in 37 countries, has approximately 9,700 employees
worldwide and had sales of $2.79
billion in 2014. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich,
please visit its website at www.sigma-aldrich.com.
Sigma-Aldrich and Sigma are
trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Co, LLC registered in the US and other
countries. MISSION is a registered trademark of Sigma-Aldrich Co.
LLC.
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SOURCE Sigma-Aldrich