Reinnervate's alvetex, its 3D cell culture technology, is among the winners of The Scientist magazine’s “Top 10 Life Science Innovations of 2010”.
Alvetex is a highly porous material that provides a robust and inert scaffold for cells to grow and form complex 3D cell structures in the laboratory, mimicking the normal growth and formation of tissues in the body. The first of multiple presentations of alvetex, a 12 well plate, was launched in November 2010. Further presentations, including 6, 24, 48 and 96 well plates, are planned to launch over the next 12 months and are designed to allow researchers in academia and the pharmaceutical and related industries to construct 3D cell culture models for application in research into cell development, disease modelling and drug safety screening.
Alvetex was selected as one the ten most exciting new tools to hit the life sciences market this year from a field of over 60 entries from companies around the world, as voted for by a panel of expert judges.
“The 2010 winners represent exceptional combinations of invention, vision and utility and we look forward to seeing how these products will impact the life sciences,” said Mary Beth Aberlin, Deputy Editor of The Scientist.
Commenting on the result, judge H. Steven Wiley, lead biologist at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, WA, USA) said: “alvetex® should enable the routine and reproducible creation of 3D cell cultures in the laboratory and extend the concept of 3D culture beyond simple, reconstituted extracellular matrices to complex extracellular structures.”
Judge Neil Kelleher, a researcher at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL, USA), added: “alvetex is an example of innovation to move us closer to better models for mimicking in vivo behaviour of cells with the control of in vitro conditions.”
Professor Stefan Przyborski, reinnervate’s Chief Scientific Officer and founder, said: “We are delighted that alvetex has been voted to be one of the Top 10 Life Science Innovations of 2010. This is well-deserved recognition of the truly game-changing nature of the alvetex technology platform, which has been developed by the innovative team here at reinnervate and at the University of Durham. Enabling 3D cell culture to be performed routinely, reproducibly and cost-effectively will lead to rapid and important advances in our understanding of cell behaviour and ultimately lead to novel therapeutic approaches.”
The Scientist magazine has informed and entertained life science professionals around the world for over 24 years. It provides print and online coverage of the latest developments in the life sciences including trends in research, new technology, news, business and careers.
For the full list of winners, see The Scientist
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