Eden Biodesign and Millipore have struck a deal to offer a service of mammalian cell lines on demand for companies developing antibodies and protein therapeutics. The collaboration marries Millipore's Ubiquitous Chromatin Opening Element (UCOE) expression technology with Eden's cGMP production. Eden, a contract manufacturing organization based in Liverpool, England, has had a long relationship with Millipore, the life science research and biomanufacturing products supplier located in Billerica, Massachusetts. The new partnership is a “natural fit” says Roger Lias, president of Eden Biodesign's US office and group commercial director. The UCOE vector yields cell lines with a high level of gene expression that are both productive and easy to scale up for clinical trials and commercial supply. According to independent consultant Linda Somerville, based in Peebles, Scotland, the UCOE system also has the potential to shorten production time considerably compared with traditional transfection methods. Eden scientist David Simpson originally developed the UCOE technology before it was acquired by Millipore in 2005. On 1 March, Millipore was involved in a $7.6 billion transaction in which it became wholly owned by Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany. The purchase has expanded Merck's remit, traditionally focused on chemicals, into life sciences and biomanufacturing. It is also a bonus for Eden, says Lias: “The deal with Eden will help drive more Merck customers to the UCOE technology.”