No-Spin HepaRG cells available for North American distribution

Triangle Research Labs and Biopredic International have entered into an agreement to allow Triangle to distribute No-Spin HepaRG hepatic cells in North America, according to a press release.

Compared with Biopredic’s original cyropreserved HepaRG cells, the new cells can be handled more easily by scientists and only need to be thawed before use, the release said. Other forms of cryopreserved hepatocytes require thawing, suspension, centrifugation, resuspension and counting, according to the release, while the new cells will leverage the consistency and predictability of HepaRG responses and their post-thaw viability, typically 93% to 98%.

Three years ago Biopredic made its HepaRG cells available for absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion toxicity (ADMETox) analyses. The renewable and reproducible hepatic cells are derived from a single donor and are capable of being grown to increase their population, but they also can be “differentiated into fully functional, adult phenotype hepatic cells,” the release said.

“Biopredic is excited to have TRL [Triangle Research Labs] as our North American partner for our improved, no-spin version of our key product, HepaRG,” Christophe Chesne, chief executive officer of Biopredic, said in the release. “TRL will … also open new applications based on recent impressive published findings demonstrating increasingly broad applications for the cells, often in applications where typical human hepatocytes are too variable, short-lived, or fragile to be relied upon.”

“TRL is thrilled to now offer the No-Spin HepaRG cells and related media,” Matt Sherman, executive director of TRL, said in the release. “These cells are a complement to our current primary hepatocyte products and function across numerous applications in ADMETox.”