Optivia and Hurel Form Technology and Marketing Alliance

Optivia Biotechnology and Hurel Corporation jointly announced that they have formalized a technology and marketing alliance. Under the companies’ agreement, Hurel’s new, patent-pending HμRELflux™ primary hepatocyte-based, direct-measurement, single-well biliary efflux assay will be offered as a service in conjunction with Optivia’s already extensive repertoire of single and multi-transporter assay services to create the most comprehensive and powerful array of in vitro tools available today for the study of transporter-mediated hepatic phenomena. Optivia’s and Hurel’s combined capability is expected to improve in vitro-to-in vivo correlation (IVIVC) across the entire spectrum of studies of hepatic clearance and drug-induced liver injury where transporters play a role, and to contribute to reduced attrition rates in late-stage pre-clinical and Phase I clinical drug development. 

Both Optivia and Hurel will market the complete, expanded contract research services offering, capitalizing on the companies’ combined market reach. Optivia will include the physiologically relevant HμRELflux™ assay as part of its transporter services portfolio, within which HμRELflux™ will be available to be run either alone or in combination with Optivia’s mechanistic transporter assays. In addition to offering HμRELflux™ as a stand-alone assay, Hurel in turn will incorporate Optivia’s assays into its own contract research menu to create a world class, one-stop transporter solution for Hurel’s services customers. Whether a client approaches the alliance through Optivia or through Hurel, pricing will be consistent, and each company will physically perform the assay or assays that it originally developed. 

Optivia CEO Yong Huang, Ph.D., said, “We are excited about combining Hurel’s hepatic culture technology with our transporter and multi-transporter models. Customers will now have a clearer picture of the mechanism of hepatic clearance and associated drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and what impact they may have in the clinic.” 

Hurel CEO Robert Freedman commented, “Hurel’s alliance with Optivia enables both our companies to offer a fully comprehensive, state-of-the-art solution to scientists charged with understanding the impact of transporters on hepatic outcomes. In this collaborative endeavor Hurel could not ask for a more expert partner than Optivia.”