The DSHB was created in 1986 by the Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH) to bank and distribute hybridomas and the monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) they produce to the general scientific community in order to facilitate research. Our first intention was, and still is, to keep the prices low so that researchers can test multiple MAbs without commitment of significant funds, then continue to utilize those of interest without worry of expense. A second intent was to relieve scientists of the time and expense of distributing hybridomas and MAbs they had developed. A third intent was to assure the scientific community that MAbs with limited demand would still remain available. Our fourth intent was to maintain the highest quality and to assist our customers in a timely fashion. We have striven over the past twenty-five years to remain true to our mission. Since 1996 we have been completely self-sufficient, requiring no funds from NIH, and have been able to keep prices extremely low. We intend to continue this policy. The $28 price of a 1 ml sample of supernatant is still approximately one-tenth the average commercial price, and our other products are similarly less expensive. The DSHB continues to respond rapidly to queries by customers concerning product quality and application. If a customer finds that the effectiveness of a hybridoma or supernatant has diminished, we will immediately retest it and, if necessary, reclone the hybridoma cell line. Our collection of hybridomas has grown over the past two years from 1100 to over 1400, an increase of over 25%. We have obtained new hybridomas from a variety of individuals and institutions, most notably a collection of 40 hybridomas from the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a collection of 34 Dictyostelium hybridomas against cytoskeletal elements and over 200 from the NCI. We now await a collection against 30 human transcription factors that can be used for ChIP analysis, funded by the NHGRI. We have also begun developing complex antibody chips and hope to have our first chip containing 200 different antibodies against Drosophila antigens ready for distribution. We have already begun tagging our most popular 50 antibodies with FITC. In the past twelve months, the DSHB distributed 50,000 samples for over 10,000 orders worldwide. Our mission will remain the same, to continue to grow and by so doing serve the needs of the scientific community, as we have done now for over twenty-five years. And our prices will remain low and our quality high.

David R. Soll

Director, DSHB