Kerafast: Connecting Scientists and Providing “Reagents for the Greater Good”

 

We had the opportunity to interview Jennifer Rossi, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Kerafast (Boston, Mass.; kerafast.com), to find out how the online platform connects scientists and improves quality of research. Kerafast’s site provides an easy-to-use catalog of specialized research materials originating from a global network of researchers.

Unlike simple chemical catalogs and ordering services, Kerafast highlights the work of the investigators who supply the reagents, allowing them to share data and knowledge from their experiments. Kerafast gives back royalties to investigative institutions. Scientists who are part of the Kerafast community provide their colleagues with access to the materials they need to conduct their research.


Researchers acquire products at Kerafast.com through a click license which streamlines the material transfer process

Q: How did Kerafast begin? What is the background story, and was there a personal motivation for launching this community?

A: Kerafast was initially spun out of a company called Keranetics (Winston-Salem, N.C.) to focus on developing specialized, research-use-only keratin products. Bob Bondaryk, our CEO, was struck with the idea for Kerafast when he saw a demand for making specialized reagents accessible to academic and research laboratories.

Q: Globally, technology is helping the scientific community become more interconnected. How does Kerafast help facilitate the movement and use of specialized reagents around the world?

A: About 30‒40% of our business comes from outside of the United States. We sell to 47 different countries around the world across six continents. We are truly trying to make Kerafast a global scientific community. The vast majority of our providers (academic institutions, small investigative firms, etc.) are from the U.S.; we do have some institutions outside of the U.S. that contribute reagents to our catalog. Our focus going forward is to continue to expand our provider base globally.

Q: How do research organizations, academic institutions and other providers join Kerafast?

A: Most individuals find reagents within our catalog by searching for a specific research area, topic or paper. If they want to become a Kerafast Provider, they first contact us directly. We often go to conferences and utilize social media to interact with investigators and prospective buyers. We work with both the investigators and their technology transfer offices. We list the product or service on our website with a Research Use Only license. For a laboratory to perform the same actions without Kerafast, there is much more communication and paperwork involved. Essentially, by expediting the process for the investigators looking for specific reagents, we expedite research.

Kerafast offers a wide variety of antibodies – primary, secondary, monoclonal and polyclonal that are unique to their catalog

Part of the Kerafast team is a product management and development team that speaks with investigators in-depth about the particular reagents in order to find out mentioned publications, specific data, data sheets, etc. When a researcher purchases an item from Kerafast, they [sic] buy the actual reagent that was used in a specific experiment within a publication. We maintain a high level of quality because these reagents are exactly those as published and scientific researchers maintain sincere integrity in their work.

On our site, a prospective buyer gets to see the story behind the research performed with a particular reagent. Not only do we highlight the reagent itself, we feature the investigators and their laboratories, their stories and their successes. A small, up-and-coming laboratory that is having difficulty breaking onto the scene and connecting with scientists can work with Kerafast to make their reagents more readily available. We help the investigators cut down on paperwork, too.

Q: How do researchers usually find Kerafast?

A: We have an excellent advertising network; we send out a monthly electronic newsletter highlighting new investigators and reagents, and we also utilize social media to post relevant articles and news. Researchers who are featured on our site are often a great resource for prospective buyers because they are able to directly answer questions. Trade shows and other events also help us generate more interest.

Q: What advantages do the Kerafast interface and directory provide to people looking for reagents compared to a big-name catalog?

A: A large portion of our portfolio is not available through any other sources. Many of these reagents come directly from a laboratory, and they are often made in very small batches. We save people the step of utilizing a materials transfer process –we’ve already taken care of this part, therefore offering one of our value propositions: time savings.

Our handling of the licensing process takes the complexity out of accessing difficult-to-source reagents. We link to publications and in-journal application mentions of the reagents.

An ever-expanding list of novel cell lines are available through Kerafast

Q: What are the more popular research areas?

A: Our catalog reflects the hot research trends. For example, we commonly see volume for cancer research, cardiovascular research and searches for specialized cell lines. We are developing a well-rounded portfolio of unique items. For example, a series of specific antibodies are in demand now because of the increased funding and quest for developing an Ebola vaccine.

Q: In addition to reagents, does Kerafast list services that smaller laboratories can take advantage of?

A: We offer specialized services, including the creation of custom virus types and other services.

An ever-expanding list of novel viral vectors are available through Kerafast

Q: Any takeaways for our readers?

A: Our core values are cemented in the fact that we work directly with scientific institutions across the world. Scientists appreciate having the option to “reinvest” back into science—as we know, obtaining and tracking funds can be difficult for labs. Our online platform provides us with a way to “give back” for the advancement of research with Kerafast royalties paid back to our providing institutions and investigators. This is how Kerafast stands by its motto: “Reagents for the Greater Good.”

 

 

Emilia Raszkiewicz is managing editor, American Laboratory; [email protected]