Durham science firm bought by Japanese giant

A NORTH-East science firm has been bought up by a Japanese stem cell company, offering hope for the development of better heart, liver and nerve cells.

Reinnervate Ltd, a Durham University off-shoot which markets Alvetex a polystyrene material said to be an ideal base for growing cells into 3D structures has been bought by Reprocell, one of the worlds leading suppliers of stem cells human cells that can develop into different cell types.

The Yokohama-based firm has agreed to invest in further research in the universitys laboratories into so-called scaffolding structures that support 3D cell growth.

It intends to invest in research facilities and research studentships and combine its own work that that of Reinnervate to create cutting-edge tools for drug toxicity testing, neuroscience and cancer research.

Reinnervate chief executive Richard Rowling said: We are delighted to become part of the Reprocell group of companies and look forward to seeing Alvetex products combined with Reprocells advanced stem cell derived cell products.

Reinnervate is based at NetPark, near Sedgefield, County Durham.

Next year, Alvetex 3D cell culture technology will be taken to the International Space Station for an experiment in growing bone culture in zero gravity to investigate bone density during space flight.

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Durham science firm bought by Japanese giant