AnaBios acquired human primary and cell culture media group Cell Systems for an undisclosed price in a deal that gives the San Diego-based preclinical CRO an expanded portfolio of human tissue and cells.
Cell Systems, based in Kirkland, Washington, provides a wide variety of human primary cells that include endothelial cells from the brain, liver, kidney, eye and lung that have been instrumental in the ongoing assessment of COVID-19. The company’s liver sinusoidal endothelial cells were recently used in a pivotal study of a novel liver-chip model that validated the use of the primary cells for a microfluidics application, the company said in an April 4 press release.
According to the National Institutes of Health, endothelial cells form a single cell layer that lines all blood vessels and regulates exchanges between the bloodstream and the surrounding tissues. Signals from endothelial cells organize the growth and development of connective tissue cells that form the surrounding layers of the blood-vessel wall.
Although financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, AnaBios said financing of the purchase was done by existing investors in the company that included Ampersand Capital Partners.
“By maximizing the synergies between our offerings and expertise and Cell System’s human primary cells and media, we will provide enhanced translational tools and reagents to academic, pharmaceutical and biotech researchers and optimize their research programs through enhanced human insights,” AnaBios CEO Andre Ghetti, PhD, said in the release.
Jesse Damm, Cell System’s CEO, added that the company’s long experience in supplying highly-cited human primary cells to drug development companies and universities has enabled “translational research using 2D and 3D models, microfluidic devices and in organ-chip technology.”