Reinnervate partners with LGC for global distribution of alvetex^®

29 / 11 / 2010

Sedgefield, UK. 29th November 2010. Reinnervate, an innovative life sciences company driving the adoption of routine 3D cell culture, is delighted to announce that it is partnering with LGC Standards for the non-exclusive distribution and sale of alvetex^®, its breakthrough 3D cell culture technology. LGC Standards is a division of LGC and a leading supplier of cutting-edge research tools to life science researchers across Europe. The product will be made available for order through the LGC Standards web site www.lgcstandards.com/3D and will also be promoted through a number of LGC Standards product catalogues.

In addition, the companies will be collaborating on the use of alvetex^® to generate realistic 3D cell models for drug discovery and development applications. For example, one key area of research has focused on the use of alvetex^® to generate liver cell cultures that closely mimic the structure and function of the same cells in the body. An accurate 3D model of the liver can allow researchers to examine the toxicity of new pharmaceuticals and be predictive of the effects of the these drugs in the body, while ultimately reducing the need for animal-based testing.

Data generated by LGC scientists, and funded by the UK’s National Measurement System, demonstrate that liver cells grown in alvetex^® produce significantly higher levels of key enzymes involved in drug metabolism and improved responses of the cells to known cytotoxic compounds, than liver cells grown in conventional 2D culture.

Richard Rowling, Commercial Director commented: “The partnership with LGC is a significant milestone for the company as we look to launch alvetex^® in a range of standard multi-well formats and well inserts over the next 12 months. Alvetex^® is a game-changing technology that has the potential to revolutionise the use and value of cell-based applications in basic and industrial research, and as such is in great demand. In order to meet this demand, reinnervate aims to partner, on a non-exclusive basis, with multiple distributors of life sciences research products around the world and is delighted that LGC has become our first partner.”

Jeffrey Anthony, Biologicals Business Unit Manager at LGC Standards commented: “3D cell culture is widely recognised as offering many advantages to cell biologists by enabling cell behaviour that more effectively mimics in vivo characteristics. The alvetex^® product now makes the benefits of 3D culture routinely available to research laboratories across the world and we are delighted to enable access to this important technology in partnership with the scientists at reinnervate.”

About alvetex^®

Alvetex^® is a unique polystyrene material that provides a robust and inert scaffold for cells to grow and form complex 3D structures in the laboratory, mimicking the normal growth and formation of tissues in the body. Reinnervate has extensively tested and validated alvetex^® with a large number of cell types, including liver, skin, cancer and stem cells, all of which have important applications in basic research into cell development, disease modelling and drug safety screening.
Alvetex^® has initially been launched in a 12-well culture plate format that is now available through LGC Standards. The alvetex^® 12 well plate comes as an off-the-shelf, sterile-packed and ready-to-use product that is expected to revolutionise what cell biologist can achieve using cell culture techniques.

Reinnervate plans, over the next 12-18 months, to introduce alvetex^® products in a range of standard multi-well plates including those suitable for high-throughput drug screening, and unique well inserts that enable long-term 3D cell culture over several weeks. Alvetex^® has been designed and developed with the needs of cell biologists in mind and will allow researchers in academia and the pharmaceutical and related industries to construct different 3D cell culture models to meet their specific research needs.

For prices and ordering information, please contact LGC Standards (www.lgcstandards.com) via email: cell@lgcstandards.com or tel: +44 (0)20 8943 8489. Alternatively, please contact Reinnervate Customer Services on +44 (0)1740 625529.

For further information, please contact

For reinnervate
Richard Rowling, Commercial Director
+44 (0)191 334 3988
mailto:richard.rowling@reinnervate.com

Mark Swallow / Malcolm Robertson
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
+44 (0)207 638 9571
mark.swallow@citigatedr.co.uk
For LGC
Gavin Dallas +44 (0)20 8943 8491
gavin.dallas@lgc.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

About LGC

LGC (www.lgc.co.uk) is an international science-based company and market leader in analytical, forensic and diagnostic services and reference standards. A progressive and innovative enterprise, LGC operates in socially responsible fields underpinning the safety, health and security of the public and the regulation of industry, for UK government departments and blue chip clients.

LGC operates internationally through four divisions - LGC Forensics, LGC Genomics, LGC Standards and LGC Science & Technology, which includes specialist laboratories delivering contracts for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and supporting LGC's designated role as the UK's National Measurement Institute for chemical and bioanalytical measurement.

Our operations are extensively accredited to international quality standards such as ISO 17025. With headquarters in Teddington, South West London, the LGC Group employs 1,400 staff in 27 laboratories and centres across Europe and at sites in India and China. Privatised in 1996 and now majority-owned by funds managed by Bridgepoint, LGC was founded almost 170 years ago as the Laboratory of the Government Chemist - a statutory function maintained by LGC today.

About LGC Standards

LGC Standards (www.lgcstandards.com) provides products and services to improve measurement and quality control within the laboratory, and is part of LGC, whose Science & Technology Division acts as the UK National Measurement Institute for chemical and bioanalytical measurements. LGC Standards supplies over 100,000 products, including reference materials, pharmaceutical impurity reference standards, biological standards and reagents, as well as proficiency testing and training in analytical quality. LGC Standards is headquartered in Teddington, Middlesex, UK. Its global centre for excellence in proficiency testing is located in Bury (Greater Manchester). LGC Standards has offices in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, China, Russia and the UK, a joint venture presence in India, and representatives in Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania and Turkey.