Alvetex® named in the top ten life science innovations of 2010 by The Scientist magazine

Sedgefield, UK. 1st December 2010. Reinnervate, an innovative life sciences company driving the adoption of routine 3D cell culture, is proud to announce that Alvetex®, its breakthrough 3D cell culture technology, is among the winners of The Scientist magazine’s“Top 10 Life Science Innovations of 2010”.

Alvetex is a unique, highly porous material that provides a robust and inert scaffold for cells to grow and form complex 3D cell structures in the laboratory, mimicking the normal growth and formation of tissues in the body. The first of multiple presentations of Alvetex, a 12 well plate, was launched in November 2010. Further presentations, including 6, 24, 48, and 96 well plates, are planned to launch over the next 12 months and are designed to allow researchers in academia and the pharmaceutical and related industries to construct 3D cell culture models for application in research into cell development, disease modeling, and drug safety screening.

Alvetex was selected as one of the ten most exciting new tools to hit the life sciences market this year from a field of over 60 entries from companies around the world, as voted for by a panel of expert judges.

“The 2010 winners represent exceptional combinations of invention, vision, and utility and we look forward to seeing how these products will impact the life sciences,” said Mary Beth Aberlin, Deputy Editor of The Scientist.

Commenting on the result, judge H. Steven Wiley, a lead biologist at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, WA, USA) said: “Alvetex should enable the routine and reproducible creation of 3D cell cultures in the laboratory and extend the concept of 3D culture beyond simple, reconstituted extracellular matrices to complex extracellular structures.”

Judge Neil Kelleher, a researcher at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL, USA), added: “Alvetex is an example of innovation to move us closer to better models for mimicking in vivo behavior of cells with the control of in vitro conditions.”

Professor Stefan Przyborski, Reinnervate’s Chief Scientific Officer and founder, said: “We are delighted that Alvetex has been voted to be one of the Top 10 Life Science Innovations of 2010. This is well-deserved recognition of the truly game-changing nature of the Alvetex® technology platform, which has been developed by the innovative team here at reinnervate and at the University of Durham. Enabling 3D cell culture to be performed routinely, reproducibly and cost-effectively will lead to rapid and important advances in our understanding of cell behaviour and ultimately lead to novel therapeutic approaches.”

The Scientist magazine has informed and entertained life science professionals around the world for over 24 years. It provides print and online coverage of the latest developments in the life sciences including trends in research, new technology, news, business, and careers.

For further information, please contact: info-emea@reprocell.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 commercialization 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.

About The Scientist

The Scientist, F1000’s magazine of the life sciences, has informed and entertained life science professionals around the world for over 24 years. We provide print and online coverage of the latest developments in the life sciences including trends in research, new technology, news, business, and careers. We reach the leaders in academia and industry that are interested in maintaining a broad view of the life sciences by reading insightful articles that are current, concise, accurate, and entertaining. For more information about The Scientist, visit www.the-scientist.com.

Note: Reinnervate Ltd (County Durham, England) was acquired by REPROCELL Inc (Yokohama, Japan) in August 2014. Biopta Ltd (Glasgow, Scotland) was acquired by REPROCELL in November 2015. REPROCELL Europe Ltd was established by merging Reinnervate and Biopta in June 2016.