AlloSource (Centennial, Colo.), a central U.S. provider of allograft providers, has founded a separate nonprofit known as Essent Biologics to provide human-derived biomaterials for research. Essent has recently launched a human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) offering for a range of research applications.
“The mission for the nonprofit is to maximize that gift of donation,” said Derek Mathers, head of business development at Essent Biologics.
Each vial of hMSCs contains more than one million cells after thawing. They have a passage level of P0 or P1 to ensure potency.
The company offers stem cells produced under current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and in accordance with International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) guidelines.
The company’s scientists have discovered a method for isolating cells and scaffold materials from tissue donation. The resulting cells are the first human-derived cell product that doesn’t use animal products or antibiotics in their processing, Mathers said.
From a single donated body, Essent Biologics can produce approximately 1.5 billion primary cells, and approximately 1 kg of scaffold materials for regenerative medicine purposes.
Essent can provide information about the origin of stem cells. “Traditionally, it’s been very difficult to tell exactly what donor human mesenchymal stem cells came from,” Mathers explained. “Our whole vision is to pair real human tissue from the donor with comprehensive donor information but still protect that donor’s identity,” he said.
Essent can specify, for instance, if a donor was a smoker, their BMI and lifestyle factors, and whether they had any specific diseases. “We typically provide healthy cells,” but human disease tissue can potentially enable researchers to reduce or eliminate the need for testing with animal products. “Human cells are the most relevant biology for human therapies that they’re developing,” Mathers concluded.