Millipore Corp. and Agilent Technologies have formed a collaboration to develop ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) kits for the epigenetics research market. The kits will be designed to improve productivity for protein research and simplify the way genetic information is studied.
   
ChIP is a technique that helps researchers understand the relationship between DNA and the proteins that impact gene regulation. The collaboration will combine Millipore’s antibody expertise, ChIP kits and reagents, with Agilent’s expertise with microarrays and data analysis solutions.
   
“This collaboration brings together two industry leaders to improve scientific workflows for epigenetic researchers,” said Geoffrey Crouse, vice president of Millipore’s Life Science Strategic Business Unit. “Our long history of leadership in the ChIP market coupled with Agilent’s leadership in DNA microarrays will enable us to help scientists push the frontiers of epigenetic research. We expect to help epigenetics researchers minimize the barriers of entry into chromatin state mapping, readily obtain reproducible genomic profiling data, and overcome the traditional challenges of ChIP assays.”
   
“We are very pleased to be working with Millipore to provide an end-to-end solution for studying the complexities of DNA-protein interactions and binding,” said Yvonne Linney, Ph.D., Agilent vice president and general manager, Genomics. “Our two companies are solidly positioned to fuel discoveries in this rapidly growing field.”