Abzena, the life sciences group providing services and technologies for the discovery, design, development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical products, has signed an agreement to access a major cell line depository.

The agreement with an unnamed institution will allow Abzena access to cell lines representing multiple different species, tissue types and genetic disorders. This removes the lengthy process of negotiating individual cell line licenses for Abzena and its customers.

The impact for customers will be a more streamlined development of specialized bioassays. The company said it will be able to provide faster, more comprehensive and more efficient functional characterization, lead selection and potency assay development for its customers’ novel biologic drug candidates.

“Securing access to this cell bank will be a major benefit to both us and our customers,” said Campbell Bunce, senior vice president, scientific operations, Abzena. “We will be able to offer broader capabilities for evaluating and testing our customers’ drug candidates to help advance the next generation of biopharmaceuticals.”