Abcellute launches Tissue Bank

The Sheffield-base firm said Abcellute Tissue Bank, a subsidiary of Abcellute Holdings, which is a portofolio company of Fusion IP, is already working with a number of NHS Trusts to supply fresh tissue and cells to the global pharmaceutical industry and research organisations.

It said the launch of the new tissue bank will enable Abcellute to offer a broader range of tissues to supplement its existing product portfolio.

Jacki Trafford and Dr. Shaun Kingston have joined Abcellute to drive the new tissue bank service forward.

Abcellute Holdings also received 220,000 funding to apply its proprietary transport media to human cells giving researchers across the world access to this drug development resource.

The company said that for the first time researchers on different continents will be able to use the same fresh cells to undertake their biomedical research improving the speed and reliability of their work.

Sheffield-based Fusion, which turns university research into business, and Finance Wales each invested 110,000, taking their shareholdings in the company to 32 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.

Gill Black, chief executive of Abcellute, said: "We have a unique offering that we intend to make full use of, as we know that a reliable and ethical supply of human tissue is crucial to the drug development market. We're also delighted that Jacki and Shaun have joined the business and we expect 2010 to be a significant year for Abcellute."

David Baynes, chief executive of Fusion IP, said: "We are very pleased to see this new team is now in place and that Abcellute is in a position to fully exploit its 'extended life ' fresh cells technology.

"We have worked closely with Abcellute and Finance Wales to support the company in this key period and are confident it will now start to show some significant sales growth."