The dye is cast! Licence agreement signed for novel fluorescent dyes

Supplier of research reagents, Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB), has signed a licence agreement with Edinburgh Innovations, which is the Innovations Management Service for The University of Edinburgh.

Under the terms of the agreement, CRB will be allowed to label custom made and catalogue peptides with novel fluorescent dyes that have been developed by a research team from the university.

The fluorescent dyes — developed by a team at the university’s School of Clinical Sciences and led by Dr Marc Vendrell — are dynamic activatable flurorphores that can fluorogenically label peptides to enhance live-cell imaging.

Through this agreement, CRB will be able to expand its dye portfolio as well as its DISCOVERY Peptides catalogue, which was officially launched earlier this year.

“This is an important agreement for CRB, as it enables us to expand our product offering both for the custom side of our business and also for the new DISCOVERY Peptides catalogue,” said CRB’s commercial director Emily Humphrys. Our customers really value our technical expertise and also our flexibility and inclination to explore the chemistry methodologies available in order to fulfil their requirements, and this new labelling strategy offers substantial scope to our dye and labelling portfolio.”

Dr Angus Stewart-Liddon, EI’s licensing manager, added: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB) on the commercialisation of this fluorescent probe technology. The significant experience CRB brings to the table in terms of peptide synthesis and supplying the research market, in particular with labelling-technologies, ideally complements the highly innovative science being undertaken by the Vendrell Group.”