Sedgefield, UK. 14th September 2010 reinnervate, an innovative life sciences company driving the adoption of routine 3D cell culture, today announced the commercial launch of ec23™, a proprietary small molecule designed to mediate the controlled and reproducible differentiation of cells in culture. ec23, which is currently available worldwide from leading life science product distributors, LGC Standards, Enzo Life Sciences and Tocris Bioscience, has multiple applications in academic and pharmaceutical research.
Reinnervate is developing small molecule mediators and other cell culture supplements alongside its core technology, Alvetex®, a unique scaffold that enables routine 3D cell culture in the lab. By enabling cells to grow in a 3D environment, Alvetex better mimics the conditions experienced by cells when growing in normal tissue. Use of Alvetex therefore provides a more relevant and representative model for investigating how cells and tissues may behave in the body in response to external factors (such as drug candidates) than is currently possible with existing 2D or other emerging 3D cell culture technologies.
ec23 is a synthetic retinoid based on all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), which is well known for its ability to modulate cell function and neural development. ATRA, as with other naturally occurring retinoids, is unstable and degrades readily when exposed to light (even low intensity light), which can result in cell culture heterogeneity and lack of reproducibility. The key advantage of ec23 is that it is a more potent inducer of neurogenesis than ATRA and is also entirely stable. This means that when ec23 is added to cell culture media it will modulate cell differentiation predictably and consistently.
Professor Stefan Przyborski, reinnervate’s Chief Scientific Officer, said: “The ability to control the development of cells and tissues in a predicable way is a major challenge in stem cell biology. Researchers require molecules that induce reliable and reproducible biological activity resulting in consistent modes of cell differentiation. This is especially important where reproduction of cell behaviour is required, for example, the consistent differentiation of neurons from stem cells for use in drug development and toxicity screening. During its development, ec23 demonstrated clearly its potential in this area and we are therefore very pleased to make it available more widely to researchers in both academia and industry. ”
For further information, please contact
For reinnervate Ashley Cooper, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)191 334 3988 ashley.cooper@reinnervate.com
Mark Swallow / Malcolm Robertson Citigate Dewe Rogerson +44 (0)207 638 9571 mark.swallow@citigatedr.co.uk
About reinnervate
Reinnervate is an innovative life sciences company dedicated to making routine 3D cell culture a reality for researchers in academia and in the pharmaceutical and related industries.
Reinnervate’s core technology is Alvetex™, a unique and proprietary scaffold that enables routine 3D cell culture in the laboratory. Alvetex provides a nanoscale environment that supports genuine homogeneous 3D cell growth. Cells grown using Alvetex form complex 3D tissue cultures, which more closely mimic normal in-vivo cell growth and the formation of tissues in the body. The use of Alvetex-derived 3D cell cultures can provide researchers with greater insight into how cells behave in the body in response to external factors (such as drug candidates) than is currently possible with existing 2D or other emerging 3D cell culture technologies.
Reinnervate has generated significant data, which have been published extensively in peer-reviewed publications, exemplifying the use of Alvetex in a large number of cell types and applications. Alvetex is being developed for commercialisation in a range of formats and is due to be launched in 2010.
Reinnervate is also using its cell biology expertise to generate a library of synthetic small molecules that mediate stem cell differentiation in vitro. The first of these small molecules, ec23™, is commercially available and offers the potential for robust and reproducible differentiation of neural cell types.
Reinnervate was founded in 2002 based on the pioneering research of Professor Stefan Przyborski and his lab at Durham University, UK, and is funded by NorthStar Equity Investors (NSEI), management and private investors. www.reinnervate.com
Malcolm Robertson, PhD Account Manager Citigate Dewe Rogerson 3 London Wall Buildings London Wall London EC2M 5SY
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