LSG, Coventry University collaborate on delivery of cell and gene therapy

Life Science Group Ltd (LSG), a UK supplier of life science research solutions, and England’s Coventry University have teamed up in the cell and gene therapy space.

The parties have created CellShip, a cell shipment and storage medium that was developed during a three-year, $341,000, Knowledge Transfer Partnership, a program part-funded by Innovate UK that was created to help businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity, with assistance from a university collaborator.

Specifically, this medium is described as a sterile, xeno-free alternative to cryopreservation (the use of very low temperatures to preserve structurally intact living cells and tissues) for the transport and short-term storage of cells—it contains a non-toxic additive designed to protect them from shear stress and maintain membrane integrity. During the product development process, the data from initial tests indicated that the product permits the transportation and short-term storage of a variety of cell types at ambient temperatures, allowing for the rapid and immediate recovery of cells.

“ … If you’re going to have a medicine that is not just available to wealthier countries, you need a way of transporting cells in an affordable and controllable manner,” explains Jenny Murray, managing director of LSG. “CellShip offers the ability to transport cells at ambient temperatures, which allows cells to be accurately controlled, to reduce the potentially detrimental loss of cells and negates the requirement for the addition of toxic cryoprotectants."