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PRESS RELEASE
Bilbao, 7-11-2016
StemTek Therapeutics Launches Cell2Sphere 3D Cell Culture Kit
A geometric evolution of cell based assay development for drug
discovery
Bilbao, Spain & Cologne, Germany – November 7, 2016, - StemTek Therapeutics, a
leading Spanish biotech start up, today announced the availability of Cell2Sphere, an
innovative 3D cell culture kit created specifically for use in cancer stem cell research,
pharmaceutical drug development and personalized medicine. Cell2Sphere frozen
spheroid tissue culture samples increase the shelf life of today’s 3D cultures, enhancing
the biological relevance of pre-clinical in vitro 3D culture efficacy assays.
Cell2Sphere is a scalable solution for High-throughput screening (HTS) and detection of
phenotypic or genetic changes in cancer stem cells. By more closely resembling the
natural environment of tumor cells, Cell2Sphere enriched 3D spheroids allow for more
comprehensive, accurate, and reproducible data for in vitro to in vivo predictions in the
search for therapeutic compounds and designer molecules to stop cancer.
“The Cell2Sphere 3D kit has allowed us to achieve results that wouldn’t have been
possible with our on-site tissue culture program alone. We have saved weeks of hard
work while also being able to focus on data mining large amounts of statistically sound
data sets,” said Dr. Javier A. Menendez, co-founder and chairman of Metabostem, a
biopharmaceutical company that develops breakthrough oncology drugs directed at the
unique metabolic features of cancer stem cells (CSC). “We’ve been waiting for an
innovative, easy-to-use CSC-based platform to let us focus on drug screening rather than
on time-consuming technical issues. Without requiring additional skills, we can now
easily design results-based testing, streamline budgeting and improve planning with this
kit.”
Using a patented scaffold-free technology, Cell2Sphere tumor spheroid cells arrive
frozen and grow in a standard 96 well ultra low-adhesion plate. Developed by molecular
and cellular oncology specialists at Stemtek Therapeutics, Cell2Sphere is the result of
rigorous analysis to push the boundaries in early stage drug screening to develop new
anticancer therapies.
According to Angel Garcia Martin, CEO of StemTek Therapeutics, “Only about 10 percent
of compounds progress successfully through clinical development. Many drugs fail
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during clinical trials, especially during phase III, which is the most expensive phase of
development, largely due to the lack of clinical efficacy or unacceptable toxicity. As
researchers we understand that 3D spheroid tissue culture is more accurate but a
notoriously time and labor intensive process, so we created a universal solution to solve
this. Much like DNA kits have saved labs many hours in time intensive tasks, we believe
3D spheroid tissue culture will become mainstream allowing researchers to dedicate less
time to growing tissue samples and spend more time better understanding cancer cell
biology. So we can stop reinventing the wheel and focus on finding a cure.”
The Cell2Sphere product kit includes three elements: (i) a standard 96 well plastic plate
that can be directly used in existing drug screening platforms, (ii) Cancer Stem Cell
enriched single cells in each well and (iii) a specific cell culture medium.
Available now in the most common cancer cell lines, Cell2Sphere also offers custom
made plates for drug development companies. In the near future, patient derived
xenograft (PDX) material and cells from primary human tumors will be offered, allowing
a personalized medicine approach. Samples are delivered frozen and last for several
months for easy planning of experiments. StemTek offers ready-to-use cell cultures or
customized made-to-order cultures. For pricing, orders and availability go here.
StemTek is also attending BIO-Europe 2016 global life science event, in Cologne,
Germany from Nov 7 to 9.
BENEFITS
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Ready-to-use 3D cell based assay comes with tumor spheroids derived
from cancer stem cells in TN Breast, pancreas, colon, brain, lung and
ovarian cancer cell lines.
Made-to-order 3D cell based assay can be developed for custom cell
lines, PDX-derived and primary human tumor cells.
More accurate screening, 3D spheroids offer researchers increased
biological relevance by recreating human tumor cell biology
Storable, samples are snap-frozen to -80 F and delivered packed in dry
ice, ready for use or cold storage for up to 6 months.
Scalable, save on development costs while improving predictability of
compound efficacy of lead molecules in drug screening.
For those seeking primary tumor cell lines for use in personalized cancer
therapy, consult with StemTek for patient derived tumor cells
Facilitates drug discovery process and speeds time to clinical trials while
reducing false positives.
ABOUT STEMTEK
Founded in 2013, StemTek is a biotech startup entirely dedicated to cancer stem cell
research and drug discovery. StemTek uses 3D cell based assay automated for HTS,
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allowing the company to test thousands of compounds that target cancer stem cells to
stop spheroid formation. 3D cell culture systems allow for stronger, more efficient and
reliable drug screening. StemTek collaborates with pharmaceutical and biotech
companies to accelerate early stage drug screening to develop new anticancer
therapies. With over thirty years combined experience in molecular and cellular
oncology, StemTek’s goal is to find treatments that put an end to relapse. Join our fight
@StemTekTher or for more information go to: www.stemtektherapeutics.com
For more information:
MEDIA CONTACT
Margaret Carpo
[email protected]
+34 634 227 572
KEYWORDS
#Cell2Sphere #3DCellCulture #CancerStemCell #cancer #CSC #3DCellularModels
#3DCancerModels #biopharmaceutical #biotech #startup #BIOEurope #biosciences
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