Stem Cell Innovations Cites two Recent Government Documents Supporting the use of Cell-Based Assays for Toxicity Testing

Stem Cell Innovations (SCI) noted that two recent government panels, one in the US and one in the UK, advocate the use of cell-based assays for toxicity testing. The Company’s human liver-based ACTIVTox® and stem cell-based PluriCell™ systems are specifically designed for this purpose.

The National Research Council, part of the US National Academy of Sciences, published a report entitled “Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: a Vision and a Strategy” promoting the use of cell-based models for toxicity testing. Another report entitled “Stem Cells in Predictive Toxicology”, published by the Dept of Health and the Dept of Trade and Industry in the United Kingdom, specifically encouraged the establishment of stem cell-based assays to speed and standardize toxicity testing.

“These two reports, one in the US and one in the UK, affirm SCI’s strategy of using human cell-based assays, rather than animal models, to assess toxicity in new drugs and chemicals,’ said James H. Kelly, PhD, CEO of Stem Cell Innovations. “The UK report, in particular, cites liver, heart and neural models as the top priority, corresponding exactly to those established at SCI.”

The Company’s ACTIVTox is a high throughput, human liver-based system used to identify and eliminate toxic liabilities in new drugs. It is currently available as either a kit or a service. Customers can run the assays in house or ship compounds to SCI for evaluation. The Company’s PluriCell stem cell-based system is being used to develop both neural and cardiac models.

The NRC report can be found at https://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11970.

The UK Dept of Health report can be found at https://www.sc4sm.org/downloads/SC4PT-REPORT.pdf.