Synthecon Issued Patent For A Dual Cell Culture Chamber Rotary Bioreactor System Needed for Development Of Stem Cell Therapeutic Applications

Synthecon Inc. announced today that it was recently issued a patent for a new perfused Rotary Cell Culture System (RCCS™). The new patent covers a dual cell culture chamber. The two chambers are connected by a specialized membrane, which allows two different cell types to exchange soluble factors with each other without mixing the cells. In addition to the dual cell culture chamber patent, Synthecon owns a broad portfolio of patents covering rotary culture system technology.

Synthecon expects that this technology will become particularly useful in stem cell cultures that require growth factors from other cells, specifically “feeder cells”, in order to proliferate. By separating feeder cells from the stem cells, it will become possible to expand pure stem cell cultures uncontaminated by feeder cells. This could become especially important if stem cell therapies are to fulfill their promise of regenerating tissues and organs.

Stem cells are primitive cells found in all multi-cellular organisms that retain the ability to renew themselves through cell divisions and can differentiate into a wide range of specialized cell types. As stem cells become more readily grown and differentiated through cell culture into specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscle and nerve, their use in medical therapies is expected to increase significantly.

Bill Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Stem-cell-derived differentiated cells offer great promise for practical tissue engineering and therapeutic applications. However, practical applications will likely require a large number of cultured stem cells. Previous research has demonstrated that rotary cell culture technology has the capability to expand stem cells significantly. The dual cell culture chamber is a significant addition to that capability.”