Transparent Inc. to Introduce Cell-able, a Unique Human Hepatocyte Array
CHIBA, Japan, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Transparent, Inc., a bio-venture business headquartered here, announced today that it will be introducing Cell-able (http://www.cell-able.com), a human hepatocyte array kit that has the potential to reduce drug development costs and time-to-market for pharmaceutical companies, at its exhibit at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (www.issx.org ) in Baltimore, Maryland, October 18-22.
It is estimated that more than ten percent of drug development projects are halted after entering clinical trials because of a drug candidate's metabolism or toxicity in the liver. Testing for liver metabolism and toxicity are difficult, given the instability and short life of human liver cells in the lab.
The Cell-able array enables the formation, from human liver cells, of 3D structures mimicking liver tissue that sustains functions for two weeks or more, versus current testing methods which maintain cell functions for three days. In addition to extending liver cell life, Cell-able allows researchers to evaluate multiple liver functions in one test plate. Until now, evaluating candidate therapeutic compounds' effects on the liver required multiple tests, based on individual liver functions, such as liver uptake, phase I and II metabolism and bile excretion.
"Cell-able is acquiring a good reputation among researchers in Japan," said Transparent president Takeshi Ikeya. "We see a need worldwide in research organizations and pharmaceutical companies for a liver evaluation system that will enable faster, more reliable analysis and we believe Cell-able can satisfy that need. We anticipate great interest from many areas of the world particularly from the U.S. market." Transparent estimates the U. S. market for a new hepatocyte evaluation system like Cell-able at $50 to $100 million. Worldwide, the market could total $100 to $200 million.
The company said it is launching its marketing effort for Cell-able in the U.S. at the ISSX meeting this month, as it also accelerates its sales efforts in Japan, where the array has been in limited distribution for evaluation purposes since May.
About Cell-able
Cell-able is a hepatocyte spheroid array kit that enables the formation of 3D structures that mimic liver tissue on standard culture plates. It provides a novel liver evaluation system for developing new compounds by offering more efficient and advanced testing of new drug pharmacokinetics and safety. Cell-able was developed through a collaboration of Transparent and Toyo Gosei Co., Ltd., one of Japan's leading manufacturers of photosensitive materials for semiconductors. Transparent provided the cell culturing technology and Toyo Gosei managed plate surface control technology.
About Transparent, Inc.
Transparent, Inc. (TRP) produces and distributes plates for cell arrays (chips) and specialized culture media. Founded by Yukio Nagasaki (currently professor at the University of Tsukuba) in August 2003 as a bio-venture business, it was the seventh venture business launched by the Tokyo University of Science. The company incorporates bio-nano interface technology, cell culture technology and cell culture control technology to create a core technology that facilitates the use of animal cells in arrays for long-term culture in a highly active state.
SOURCE Transparent, Inc.
CONTACT: Christina Pagano, +1-212-213-2851, paganopr@aol.com, or Seiki
Uozaki, uozaki@transparent.co.jp
Web site: http://www.cell-able.com/