In what is described as a major breakthrough Abcellute's non-cryogenic cell preservation technology has been successfully trialled by Biopta, a CRO specialising in human tissue in vitro pharmacology
Early stage studies using human tissue samples are increasingly recognised as key to reducing drug failure rates.
Biopta was able to use Abcellute's matrix to maintain the viability of fresh blood vessels over five days for use on their cardiovascular in vitro testing systems including Biopta's first instrument, the PM-1, which provides real-time information on the vascular effects of drugs in living tissues.
According to Karen Macdonald of Biopta, the next stage is to repeat the trials with human vessels: "We are extremely encouraged by these results.
"Being able to maintain the viability of human blood vessels for longer would obviously enable us to extend the power of our in vitro studies to provide data on potency and efficacy or detect adverse effects in human tissue much earlier in the development process; accelerating development, reducing the risk of late stage failures and adding value to preclinical drug compounds".
Alex Watson, chief executive officer, Abcellute said: "The results from Biopta are the latest of a series of external evaluations conducted by leading pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations and academic institutes in Europe, the USA and Japan.
"While the majority has concentrated on hepatocyte preservation, Biopta's findings also lead us to believe the company's technology might also have beneficial advantages in surgical management, such as post-organ transplantation blood vessel repair.
"Therefore an approved project with a leading London Hospital focusing on this area will now be implemented within a few weeks."
