The main building blocks of this production technology are:
o The bank of rodent embryonic pluripotent stem cells (ES), developed and patented by the Belgian biotech company ThromboGenics NV and now entirely the property of genOway, containing 17 lines of stem cells, embodying 67 000 samples, making it one of the densest and most valuable cell banks on the market.
o Screening automation enabling the genotyping result to be obtained in less than one day with two times less consumables.
o A proprietary technology for gene targeting, enabling the reduction by 66% of the production cost for this step. With the implementation of this new industrialized process, genOway significantly reduces the development time of its models by 20%, allowing an average 1,5 months reduction time. This acceleration in the development of research tools gives a key advantage to genOway’s customers by speeding up their research.
Moreover, within the Stem Cell bank purchased from ThromboGenics, genOway has acquired Embryonic Stem Cells in new genetic backgrounds, which will enable the company to expand its range of animal models. The company anticipates by mid-2010 the market launch of new offerings specifically dedicated to scientists working on metabolic and inflammatory diseases, two therapeutic fields where the need for genetically modified animal models is strongly increasing.
Alexandre Fraichard, CEO of genOway, declared : «StemCellHY is a tremendous growth accelerator for genOway, allowing, at the same time, to generate significant gains in productivity and to provide the pharmaceutical industry with shorter development time. The agreement signed with ThromboGenics provides us with a key asset for this new platform, allowing us to use the most valuable Stem Cell bank. Moreover, this agreement will expand the range of models we can offer targeting key therapeutic areas like metabolic disorders.»
Patrik De Haes, CEO of ThromboGenics NV, commented: «We are quite pleased to have a high technology company like genOway introduce this innovative production technology based on our Stem Cell bank. These new cell lines, developed from our internal research and offering many applications, are a valuable advance in Stem Cell technology. We consider genOway to be a natural partner for us».
