Company History
Our Story
From humble beginnings
Back in 1998, a scientist at the University of Cambridge, Jonathan Milner, was running into constant problems with his antibodies: the quality was lacking, the supporting data was missing, and as a result his research was slowing.
So he decided to do something about it. Through a combination of hard work, the occasional lucky break, and help from friends and colleagues, he formed Abcam; a company built on the vision of providing the best available antibodies accompanied by comprehensive and open data. And of course fast delivery, customer service, and expert technical support. No mean feat.
A global player
Since the early days we have moved from delivering a handful antibodies in an ice-bucket to local researchers, to becoming a multi-billion dollar company, shipping orders to over 140 countries from a catalogue of more than 100,000 products and offering multi-lingual technical support.
Today, we are a listed company on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and have offices and labs in the UK, the US, China and Japan and employ the best talent – out of our 1100+ staff, over 190 are PhD-level graduates.
Onwards and upwards
The life sciences are not static and neither are we: we are constantly on the lookout for new and innovative technology. Through in-house development by our R&D teams and acquisitions and partnerships, we can provide researchers with the latest tools and technologies to advance their research. Our recent acquisition of AxioMx, for example, greatly expands our recombinant monoclonal antibody production – an area of growing scientific importance and interest.
While we’ve evolved over the years to become a leading provider of life science research tools, our ethos remains the same as it was in 1998: helping scientists make breakthroughs faster by providing the highest quality reagents.
2018
- Agreement signed with Roche covering Spring?Bioscience portfolio of over 750 products
- Number of recombinant RabMAb antibodies available surpasses 13,000
2017
- Annual revenue surpasses ￡200m for the first time (￡217.1m for FY2016/17)
2015
- Firefly BioWorks acquired, adding multiplex and MiRNA assay capabilities
- AxioMx acquired, proving in vitro recombinant monoclonal antibody capabilities?(phage display)
2014
- Alan Hirzel appointed as CEO
- Long-term invest-to-grow strategy initiated
2013
- Chinese office in Shanghai opened
- Annual revenue surpasses ￡100m for the first time (￡122.2m for FY2012/13)
2012
- Acquisition of Epitomics, bringing RabMAb production capacity in-house
- Online catalogue surpassed 100,000 products
2011
- Mitosciences acquired, bringing immunoassay capabilities in-house
- Ascent Scientific Ltd acquired, enhancing Abcam’s offering in high-performance biochemicals
2005
- Abcam plc floated on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange
- Sales of ￡12.1 million (2004/5)
2003
- First overseas office opened in Cambridge, MA
1998
- Abcam established and in the first twelve months focuses on?setting up?a web-based offering to sell the best antibodies in the world with the most comprehensive data, fast delivery and helpful customer service and technical support