Press
Release

Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc. Introduces Melanoma Cell Lines in Collaboration with The Wistar Institute

Limerick, PA. February 1st, 2016 – Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc. (Rockland) announced today, the availability of a new collection of human been developed and characterized over several decades in the lab of Dr. Meenhard Herlyn, D.V.M., D. Sci., Caspar Wistar Professor in Melanoma Research, Director of the Melanoma Research Center, and professor in the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program at The Wistar Institute. Over one hundred of these human melanoma cell lines will now be grown and exclusively distributed by Rockland. This new agreement comes as the first development from the institutions’ new partnership, announced in July 2015.

The initial products represent a diverse panel of highly characterized cell lines. Historically, a number of tumor model systems have lacked diagnostic value because of the absence of correlation between genetic drivers, clinical results and in vitro and/or in vivo data obtained. Primary cell lines, established from the patient tumors, are superior to that of established cell lines as they retain key properties found in the patient’s tumor. With these human melanoma cell lines, in vitro and in vivo modeling is brought into practice.

In a video produced by Rockland, Dr. Herlyn describes the importance of the human Melanoma cell lines in advancing cancer research all over the world. “We need models because we cannot do everything in patients. We need to make sure that our models reflect what’s going on in patients. That’s why we have the cell lines, they are our work horses and without them we could not do what we do.” Additionally, Dr. Herlyn and Dr. Carl Ascoli, Chief Science Officer at Rockland, go on to discuss innovative practices to recreate individual cells from a sample of a patient’s original skin and the critical cell culture conditions and rigorous validation that Rockland performs to ensure their integrity.

Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) grant opportunities, the two companies will continue to develop innovative technologies for research, diagnostic and therapeutic applications. “We are really excited to be able to bring such impactful products to the market. We take very seriously our responsibility of ensuring the quality and integrity of all of our products.” explains Richard Smith, Chief Operating Officer at Rockland. “These human Melanoma cell lines not only enhance cancer research by bridging the gap between patient and laboratory samples but set the bar extremely high for more collaborations to come.”

Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc. supports the academic, biopharma, and diagnostic industries
with antibodies and antibody based tools used in basic research, assay development, and
preclinical studies. With facilities in Pennsylvania for over 50 years, Rockland manufactures
products ideally suited for integration into critical assays such as western blotting,
immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence microscopy (IF), ELISA and flow cytometry.
Additional information about Rockland’s life science tools and services can be found on Rockland’s
website at www.rockland-inc.com.

The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research with special expertise in
cancer research and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit
biomedical research institute in the country. Wistar has held the prestigious National Cancer
Institute Cancer Center designation since 1972, and works actively to ensure that research
advances move from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible. Wistar’s Business
Development team is dedicated to advancing Wistar Science and Technology Development
through creative partnerships. www.wistar.org

For additional information regarding this announcement, please contact:

Dana Dever
Marketing Manager
Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc.
Phone: 484.791.3823
Email: dana.dever@rockland-inc.com