Medicyte and PRIMACYT Receive 300k Euro Grant to Develop Human Liver Cells for Cell-based Therapies

Medicyte’s upcyte® technology enables the expansion of human primary liver cells to large amounts and with consistent quality. Upcyte® hepatocytes are functionally equivalent to human primary liver cells and therefore suitable for use in cell-based bioartificial liver systems. PRIMACYT’s main expertise lies in the serum-free, long-term culturing of primary human hepatocytes and the development of cell culture media. Both companies now combine their knowledge to develop modified liver cells in large amounts for use in cell-based therapies.

Dr. Braspenning, Managing Director and CSO of Medicyte stated: “We are enthusiastic about working together with well-known German experts. I am sure that this collaboration will result in a vast pool of scientific data that support upcyte® as enabling technology of great value.”

Dr. Runge, Managing Director of PRIMACYT added: “The application and development of improved in-vitro systems for the treatment of severe liver disease is a key area of focus of our research and we believe the partnership with Medicyte and the University of Tübingen creates an ideal opportunity for our two companies to improve bioartificial liver devices.”

The three-year project is supported by a team from the University of Tübingen lead by Prof. Andreas Nüssler, a well-known liver cell expert. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting the joint effort out of the grant program “KMU-innovativ”.