Covance, Inc. has acquired the assets of Signet Laboratories, Inc. for $9 million. Signet is based in Dedham, MA and is a provider of monoclonal antibodies used in the research of cancer, infectious disease and neurodegenerative disease.

“This acquisition strengthens Covance’s leadership position in providing antibodies and detection reagents that support early drug development discovery work,” said Joe Herring, Covance’s chairman and chief executive officer. “These new service offerings will allow us to tap into commercial opportunities in the pharmaceutical and clinical diagnostics markets. We look forward to integrating these new products and services in our drug development portfolio, and in particular with our industry leading preclinical and central laboratory services.”

“Signet’s outstanding line of immunological diagnostic kits and reagents enhances Covance’s well-established line of antibodies for neuroscience, neurodegenerative disease research, and epitope tags,” said Tony Cork, corporate senior vice president and co-president of early development. “We are excited to welcome Signet employees to Covance as they help us deliver enhanced solutions to our clients engaged in discovery and early-phase drug development studies.”