iSpecimen® expands offerings to support regenerative medicine, adding cryopreserved stem and immune cells to existing biospecimens available through iSpecimen Marketplace™

LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- iSpecimen today announced it has expanded its cellular biospecimen offerings by introducing new cryopreserved stem and immune cell products for life science research and preclinical drug development. The new products are intended to support the growth of regenerative medicine by giving researchers broader access to the materials they need to develop new therapies.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), also provided as "leukopacks," are critical for the research and development of stem cell and immunotherapies, vaccines, diagnostics, and new treatments for cancer, infectious, and autoimmune diseases. PBMCs are an important source of CD34⁺ Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs), CD3⁺ Pan T cells, CD4⁺ Helper T cells, CD8⁺ Cytotoxic T cells, CD56⁺ Natural Killer (NK) cells, CD14⁺ Monocytes, antibody-secreting CD19⁺ B cells, and other primary cell types that are commonly used in cell-based assays to help advance drug discovery and development.

iSpecimen provides centralized access to a repository of banked cell types available for prompt delivery, plus mononuclear cells that can be collected prospectively and subsequently cryopreserved, depending on project and specific donor phenotype requirements. When compared to fresh cell collections, cryopreserved products provide researchers with increased flexibility in the timing and rollout of their research studies, especially when dealing with unexpected changes to lab schedules or pandemic-related disruptions. Moreover, cryopreserved cells collected from multiple donor phenotypes may help researchers execute side-by-side studies within preclinical development workflows.   

The new offerings, which supplement iSpecimen's line of fresh immune cells, include:

• Cryopreserved leukopacks from non-mobilized, healthy donors, in sterile CRYO bags that have been stored below minus 150 degrees Celsius and are ready to be thawed.
• Cryopreserved leukopacks from mobilized donors with cancer including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic lymphoblastic leukemia, multiple myeloma, chronic myelogenous leukemia, follicular lymphoma, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, as well as renal failure. These donors were mobilized using GRANIX®️ (tbo-Filgrastim) to increase the number of hematopoietic stem cells released into the peripheral blood. Redacted clinical reports are available for each cancer patient donor.
• Cryopreserved leukopacks prospectively collected from non-mobilized donors with autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease, psoriasis, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, lupus, Sjogren's syndrome, diabetes, and others.
• Cryopreserved healthy isolated cell types, including PBMCs and negatively selected (untouched) immune cells.

"We're committed to supplying life science researchers with more of what they need in some of medical research's most promising areas," said Wayne Vaz, iSpecimen's vice president of growth and corporate development. "To provide a broad choice for demanding research, we continue to focus on expanding our extensive network of trusted suppliers, increasing industry access to difficult-to-source specimens, and providing a proprietary Marketplace platform that improves the overall experience of acquiring annotated biomaterials."

Trusted, accredited partners    

iSpecimen sources these stem and immune cells from a wide network of supplier donor facilities. Each leukopack has been collected and/or cryopreserved in a US-FDA registered, AABB-accredited cell collection and storage center using a controlled-rate freezer and validated processing protocols.      

Streamlined discovery, access, and procurement

Researchers can access the new selection of cells, as well as a range of other human biospecimens, by contacting iSpecimen directly and through the iSpecimen Marketplace, an online platform that increases access to human biospecimens from specific patients and healthy donors who provide them.

For those needing cells, the iSpecimen Marketplace gives researchers centralized, single-source access to a growing population of healthy donors and patients with hematopoietic and immune cell phenotypes that can match particular research study criteria.

Hematopoietic stem and immune cells may be selected based upon a variety of donor phenotype parameters such as HLA type, blood type, body mass index, ethnicity, race, age, and gender. The iSpecimen Marketplace also offers a comprehensive donor screening capability, permitting researchers to select the required scope of infectious disease testing such as CMV, hepatitis (B&C), HIV, West Nile Virus, syphilis, Chagas, and more.

About iSpecimen

Headquartered in Lexington, MA, iSpecimen offers an online marketplace for human biospecimens, providing researchers with the specimens they need from the patients they want. The privately held company has developed the iSpecimen Marketplace, an online platform connecting healthcare organizations that have access to patients and specimens with the scientists who need them. Proprietary, cloud-based technology enables researchers to intuitively search for specimens and patients across a federated partner network of hospitals, labs, biobanks, blood centers, and other healthcare organizations. Researchers easily and compliantly gain access to specimens to drive scientific discovery. Partner sites gain an opportunity to contribute to biomedical discovery as well as their bottom line. Ultimately, healthcare advances for all. For more information about iSpecimen, please visit www.ispecimen.com.

SOURCE iSpecimen

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