Tissue Therapies: Research shows human embryonic stem cells can be grown using VitroGro technology

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, May 30 - Tissue Therapies Ltd. said Tuesday that it has potentially overcome a major hurdle in the race to use human embryonic stem cells for medical treatment with the discovery that its VitroGro technology can be used to replace animal or human serum in the culture of human embryonic stem cells.

Research conducted at Queensland University of Technology's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovations showed that human embryonic stem cells can be successfully grown using Tissue Therapies' VitroGro, eliminating the need to use human or animal serum to culture cells, according to a company news release.

This breakthrough finding potentially removes one of the most significant obstacles to approved use of stem cell therapies, Steven Mercer, chief executive officer, said in the release.

The Food and Drug Administration and Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration had been extremely concerned that the use of animal- or human-derived serum to grow human embryonic stem cells could result in the transmission of infections to humans treated with these cells, company officials said.

"Until now, there have been no alternatives to serum for the growth of human embryonic stem cells, and this has been a major impediment to the ultimate approval of stem cell therapies for human treatment," Mercer said in the news release.

The research shows that the presence of VitroGro allows human embryonic stem cells to be grown through more than 20 generations without serum, with no impact on the integrity of the cells, officials said.

The company said it believes the discovery has significant potential to accelerate the practical application of human stem cell therapies to develop cures for a wide range of devastating diseases.

The company said it is in negotiations with a number of large international companies who supply cell culture products or use various types of human stem cells.

Officials said the company expects to confirm additional clinical applications of the VitroGro technology over the next 12 months.

Tissue Therapies is a Brisbane, Australia, company developing biomedical technologies for wound healing, tissue and various cell culture applications.

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