Developing liver cells from stem cells
Stem cells have the capability to self-renew as well as to generate almost every cell type of the body by a process called differentiation. This bipotential feature makes stem cells an important tool for many applications including regenerative medicine to replace lost organ functions or degenerated cells. In the context of SLS, stem cells will be an important component in the R&D pipeline to develop for instance, liver cells from stem cell sources in-vitro. Such stem cell derived cells will complement the primary liver cells and immortalized liver cells in the current product pipeline. We strongly believe that this strategy will further enhance our capabilities to provide cell products to customers on demand. Furthermore, stem cell derived products will provide long-term and sustainable access to important cell types in our product portfolio.
Developing additional immortalized liver cells
SLS has co-developed an immortalized liver cell line with superior performance as compared to available cell lines in the market (e.g. Hep2G). In order to sustain our long-term business prospects, SLS has embarked on generating additional immortalized liver cell lines from primary non-carcinogenic liver tissues. Such lines will supplement the HC04 cell line which we are currently supplying to customers around the world.
Developing media for improved liver cell performance and storage
All cell types grown in-vitro, including liver cells, require specialized media to sustain long term survival and cell specific performance in cell culture as well as for storing cells. We will strive to continuously optimize our cell culture technology by developing superior and specialized media in order to provide optimal support for the cell culture platforms of our customers. This will enable us to provide complete solutions to customers including cells as well as supporting cell culture knowledge and technologies.
