ProSci strives for a high level of customer satisfaction. The company works diligently to provide customers with quality products and services. However, it is not possible to guarantee everything will meet with 100% success. ProSci will maintain an open dialogue with the customer throughout the custom antibody development process and work to create a quality product. The process includes evaluation points which allow communication of each project’s progress.
Project Deliverables
ProSci services and project deliverables are for research use only and are not intended for therapeutic, diagnostic, or in vivo studies. ProSci will not be liable for any loss, damage, or expense that might result from the sale, storage, handling, use, or inability to use these deliverables. ProSci is not responsible for patent or intellectual property right infringement made by the customer with the use of the services or deliverables. Nothing in the documentation provided is to be taken as a recommendation to use the product in violation of any patents or intellectual property rights. Should the customer use the services and deliverables for anything other than research, the customer is solely responsible for making sure that the way they use the services and deliverables complies with any applicable laws, regulations, and governmental policies. Numerous patents and/or intellectual property rights are enforceable in the field of antibody engineering; the customer must obtain all necessary approvals, intellectual property rights, licenses and permissions they may need. It is solely the customer’s responsibility to do this should they use any services or deliverables for anything other than research.
Confidentiality and Intellectual Property
ProSci considers all information given by the customer to be strictly confidential. ProSci will not disclose any information without the customer’s written authorization. If the customer prefers, both sides can sign a non-disclosure agreement prior to discussing a project in detail to further assure confidentiality.
ProSci does not retain the rights to any products derived through custom services unless stated otherwise. The antigen that is supplied by the customer or produced by ProSci, conjugates, antiserum, hybridoma cells and any antibodies custom made are the property of the purchaser. Primers, vectors, and any other ProSci proprietary technology used for the services will remain the property of ProSci. Rabbit monoclonal antibody development services are granted a royalty-free license for research use only.
ProSci is a fee-for-service provider. It is solely the customer’s responsibility to ensure antigens and other components supplied by the customer do not infringe upon patent or intellectual property rights with in any way. Nothing on the project documentation is to be taken as a recommendation to use the product(s) in violation of any patents or intellectual property rights.
Immunogens Provided by Customer
ProSci cannot assume responsibility for antigens that degrade during shipping to our location based on the customer’s select method of shipping. Some suggestions: if the antigen is frozen, ship on dry ice; if refrigerated, ship on gel ice packs; ship antigens in a Styrofoam shipping container by an overnight delivery company such as FedEx, DHL, or UPS.
International customers supplying an antigen or other samples are responsible for all shipping and customs fees associated with transporting the antigen to ProSci. If a fee is assessed to ProSci by any of the major carriers, these fees will be added to the project cost. International customers must also notify ProSci whenever a sample ships and provide the paperwork included with the shipment to facilitate customs clearance.
Custom Antibody Development and Production Guarantees
Due to the unpredictable nature of the immune response in host animals, ProSci cannot guarantee the specificity of the resulting antibodies. The success of a project is dependent upon many factors, some of which include: the quality of the immunogen, the individual animal immune response, whether sufficient epitopes exist on the immunogen, as well as the type of screening method used.
ProSci will, however, guarantee the following:
Polyclonal Antibody Guarantee:
If the customer utilizes ProSci's complementary antigen design assistance and select one of our recommended sequences to use in a standard Rabbit Peptide or Purified Package, ProSci will guarantee an immune response against the peptide antigen. If no titer is observed, ProSci will re-immunize a new set of animals. If titer against the antigen is still not present, ProSci will re-evaluate the protein of interest and synthesis a new peptide based upon our evaluations.
Hybridoma Development Guarantee:
ProSci will guarantee three (3) ELISA-positive clones to the immunogen if ProSci selected and synthesized the peptide immunogen. Because of the nature of monoclonal antibodies, and antibodies in general, it is not possible to guarantee that the clones will bind in applications other than ELISA, or that a clone will work for multiple applications. Antibodies that work well in one application may not work in another. ProSci can, however, guarantee that each clone will recognize the immunogen in ELISA as this is our primary method of screening. In order to improve the chances of obtaining antibodies suitable to the customer’s needs, the customer has the option of screening the culture supernatants from up to 96 positive wells. If this option is ordered, results must be forwarded to ProSci within 24 hours of shipping of the supernatant samples. Because of the time critical nature of cloning, selections received after the 24 hour period will void any expressed or implied guarantees. The success of a project is dependent upon the immunogen, screening methods for hybridomas, etc. ProSci highly recommends screening positive wells, especially if a peptide immunogen is used as this will increase the chances of developing a cell line that produces monoclonal antibodies that work in the customer’s target application. Additional positive clones may be available at additional cost.
ProSci cannot guarantee the success of a project where the customer provides the antigen; however, it is our experience that monoclonal projects using a protein yield monoclonal antibodies that have a higher recognition rate to the native protein than by using a peptide immunogen. The customer must also be aware that a customer-provided immunogen may not yield the immune response required for fusion. If the customer provides the immunogen there will not be a refund for Phase I if there is insufficient titer for fusion following the 4th test-blood collection in the immunization protocol.
If there is a successful fusion with no resulting ELISA-positive clones, Phase I will not be refunded, although ProSci will perform a second fusion at no charge. If the customer is not satisfied with the positive wells at screening or final clones, the customer may opt to pay for another round of fusion and/or sub-cloning at additional cost.
Ascites Production:
ProSci cannot guarantee ascites production volumes or quality as this is dependent upon the hybridoma cell line used. Each hybridoma has distinct growth characteristics which results in varying yields in terms of volumes and antibody concentrations. This includes cell lines received from the customer as well as those produced by ProSci.
For ascites production in which the customer has an established hybridoma cell line, ProSci requires two (2) vials from the same hybridoma culture at 1x106 cells per vial; one for mycoplasma testing and one for one for expansion and ascites production. At this time ProSci only produce ascites for Balb/c-derived cell lines.
In Vitro Production of Monoclonal Antibodies:
ProSci cannot guarantee monoclonal antibody in vitro production yields or quality as this is dependent upon the hybridoma cell line used. Each hybridoma has distinct growth characteristics which results in varying yields in terms of antibody concentrations. This includes cell lines received from the customer as well as those produced by ProSci.
For monoclonal antibody in vitro production in which the customer has an established hybridoma cell line, ProSci requires mycoplasma testing to ensure that the hybridoma line is mycoplasma free.
Recombinant Single Domain Antibody Development Guarantee:
ProSci will guarantee up to six (6) ELISA-positive binders (“clones”) to the immunogen. Because of the nature of monoclonal single domain antibodies, and antibodies in general, it is not possible to guarantee that the clones will work for applications other than ELISA, as this is our primary method of screening. The success of a project is dependent upon multiple parameters, some of which include: the immunogen, individual animal immune responses, whether epitopes exist, as well as the panning and screening methods. ProSci strongly recommends providing protein antigens in a form as close to the conformation in the final application to increase chances of selecting single domain antibodies that will work in the customer’s target application. Certain antigens such as highly homologous mammalian proteins may not yield the immune response required for a successful project. There will not be a refund for Phase I if there is insufficient titer for PBMC isolation and there will be additional fees for extending the immunization protocol following the 3rd test blood collection in the initial immunization protocol. Subsequent phases that are not performed will not be invoiced.
Recombinant Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody Development Guarantee:
ProSci will guarantee up to four (4) ELISA-positive binders (“clones”) to the immunogen. Because of the nature of recombinant monoclonal rabbit antibodies, and antibodies in general, it is not possible to guarantee that the clones will work for applications other than ELISA, as this is our primary method of screening. The success of a project is dependent upon multiple parameters, including the immunogen, screening methods, etc. ProSci strongly recommends providing protein antigen in a form as close to the conformation in the final application to increase chances of selecting recombinant rabbit monoclonal antibodies that will work in the customer’s target application. Certain antigens such as highly homologous mammalian proteins may not yield the immune response required for plasma cell isolation. There will not be a refund for Phase I if there is insufficient titer for plasma cell isolation and there will be additional fees for extending the immunization protocol following the final test blood collection in the initial immunization protocol. However, subsequent phases that are not performed will not be invoiced.
Payment
ProSci accepts VISA, MasterCard, and American Express for immediate payment. Payment terms are net thirty (30) days with a 0.05% daily finance charge added to invoices that are thirty (30) days past due. ProSci reserves the right not to ship any future items to the customer until past-due invoices are paid in full. Customers unable to pay the full amount within the 30-day time frame should contact ProSci. All payments must be made in United States Dollars. Prepayment is required for all orders outside of the U.S.A. prior to shipment. Please see the "International Orders and Shipping" section below for more information.
Additional services requested during the course of a project will be invoiced upon completion of those services or after the first shipment, whichever is earlier.
ProSci reserves the right not to ship any items to the customer until any past due invoices have been paid in full. The customer should contact ProSci if they require specific billing procedures.
Animals will incur additional per diem maintenance fees after the initial schedule until project instructions are received, billed on a monthly basis by the end of each month.
Polyclonal:
An invoice will be generated once the first shipment is sent.
Mouse Monoclonal and Llama Single Domain:
Invoices will be generated at the beginning of each phase of development.
Recombinant Rabbit Monoclonal:
An invoice will be generated at the beginning of Phase I for services requested under Phase I at the start of the project. Another invoice will be generated prior to the start of Phase II for Phases II-III. A 50% non-refundable prepayment for Phases II-III is required to proceed to this stage of the project. The remaining 50% is due at the end of the phase III. International customers will be required to prepay Phase II-III in full.
Project Termination
Polyclonal antibody production project animals will be not be removed from the protocol until notification is obtained from the customer. Customers should notify ProSci by the date on the project schedule included with the last shipment of the initial protocol. If no notification is obtained, the animals will be placed on maintenance the following day at the current per diem rate until ProSci receives notice to terminate or extend, as applicable to each project type.
Monoclonal antibody development animals (e.g. mice and rabbits) not used in Phase II will be maintained at no additional cost to the customer through the end of Phase III. However, additional services requested for Phase I, such as extensions or terminations, will incur additional fees.
Llamas on single domain antibody development projects will incur additional per diem maintenance fees after the initial Phase I schedule until project instructions are received.
Larger host species (i.e. llamas and goats) will be retired at the end of a project. ProSci does not reuse smaller species for projects, but reserves the right to reuse larger species for future projects after a minimal three (3) month rest period. Larger species can be purchased outright by the customer and will not be reused for other customer projects, but a per diem maintenance fee will be incurred by the customer for the rest of the animal’s natural life.
Twenty-eight (28) day extensions are available at current year's pricing. ProSci must be notified at the end of each purchased extension as to the status of the project unless animal(s) are placed on perpetual extension. The customer is responsible for all charges incurred during animal maintenance or extension periods. If animals are placed on perpetual extension, an open purchase order or credit card is required.
Polyclonal antibody customers will receive a PDF copy of the project schedule via email upon the start of the immunization protocol. A hard copy is sent by ProSci along with each shipment. Each project schedule includes a written reminder of ProSci's termination policy at the bottom of the form.
Purchase Orders
ProSci Incorporated (“ProSci”) reserves the right not to accept a purchase order with incorrect pricing, incorrect or missing catalog number, or incorrect description. ProSci Customer Care Department will contact the customer via email or telephone to obtain an accurate purchase order. If the customer does not submit a corrected purchase order in writing within 24 hours of contact, the purchase order will be deemed as a cancelled order. After the 24-hour period, a new purchase order will need to be submitted for the order to be processed.
Pricing
ProSci reserves the right to change prices without prior notification unless there is a specific contract stating otherwise. All pricing on our website and in literature is in United States Dollars and does not include shipping or taxes. California state and applicable county sales tax will be added to invoices where goods are shipped to a California address unless a valid resale certificate issued by State Board of Equalization is presented before shipment. Any state taxes outside of California and any duty fees, the customer will reimburse ProSci the full amount. Should the customer decide to pay via wire transfer, the customer is responsible for the wire transfer fees. In the event a project fails due to unforeseen circumstances, ProSci will not charge for any phases not started.
Shipping
Shipping prices listed are for destinations within the continental U.S.A. only. International customers need to contact ProSci for shipping and handling fees specific to the destination country. Any customs fees, duties, taxes, or other fees associated with international shipments are the customer’s responsibility. If the customer provides a Federal Express account number, ProSci will bill shipping, duties, and taxes to that account. Because of the biological nature of our products a small cold/warm packaging fee will be charged to customers who use their own Federal Express account number to cover the cost of special packaging needed to insure orders arrive in good condition. Items shipping on dry ice by default (e.g. cell lines) or by request will incur an additional dry ice fee.
Due to the complex nature of international customs processes, international customers are responsible to resolve any issues that arise from their country’s customs clearance, regardless of the shipping account or shipping method. It is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that all importation documentation is ready to ensure efficient delivery. ProSci is not responsible for delays due to customs.
ProSci is not responsible for delays in shipping that are the fault of the shipping company.
International Orders
International customers can order directly from ProSci if their country does not have a distributor. ProSci's policy is that all international orders are prepaid. Shipping fees will be added to the invoice unless the customer provides a shipping account in which case, a handling fee will be added to the invoice. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and wire transfers are accepted methods for pre-payment. Customers are responsible for contacting ProSci to obtain information for wire transfers. Customers are responsible for wire transfer fees and may not deduct them from payment. Once payment is received, the project will start. Project deliverables are shipped via FedEx Express-International Priority on Friday.
Returns
Due to the nature of custom antibody development and production projects, all sales are final. Returns will not be accepted.
Refunds
Refunds will be issued in the form of account credits, or if paid by credit card, will be issued back to the credit card used. Any credit not used within one year, will be refunded to the customer. Credits will be issued at ProSci's discretion on a case-by-case basis. Credits and refunds are limited to the purchase price of the project(s), and do not include shipping and handling or other similar fees.
Order Cancellations
Custom orders can be cancelled before the start of a project. Custom orders cancelled in the middle of a project will be billed for the amount of work ProSci has completed up until the time of cancellation, or as otherwise stated in the quotation.
New Customers
New customers who wish to pay by purchase order and have an office in the United States are required for credit approval. Customers should fax over their first purchase order on company letterhead and attach three credit references. The customer will be contacted if the credit is approved or denied within one business day.
Other
ProSci has the right to decline any custom service order.
If the customer requests a non-standard screening method, the method must be qualified at ProSci first with the appropriate customer-provided positive controls. Additional materials and time to qualify the screening method is at the customer’s expense.
