AgenoLAB acquires Roche´s RTCA Cardio Instrument

AgenoLAB, the Stuttgart-based service provider, is the first company in Germany to expand its service offering with the latest cell analysis technology from Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY). The company will use the RTCA Cardio Instrument to complement their analytical service portfolio for drug development.

“Cardiotoxicity screening, e.g. for compilation of preclinical safety data, complements our service portfolio for the measurement of in vitro toxicity, dermatotoxicity, and chemical-cosmetic screening of active ingredients. For AgenoLAB, the improved qualification and GMP-like validation of planned processes were the decisive factors to use the xCELLigence Cardio System.”

"We are pleased to be the first lab in Germany that purchased Roche´s RTCA Cardio Instrument. This latest member of the xCELLigence product family complements and extends our service offering, which has always included the latest xCELLigence developments since 2008. The new impedance-based technology for measuring the contraction activity of heart cells will open the door to completely new analytical workflows in pharmaceutical drug development," stated Dr. Michaela Noll, Head of Cell Systems and Tissue Engineering at AgenoLAB.

Dr. med. Andreas Greither, CEO of AgenoLAB, added: "Cardiotoxicity screening, e.g. for compilation of preclinical safety data, complements our service portfolio for the measurement of in vitro toxicity, dermatotoxicity, and chemical-cosmetic screening of active ingredients. For AgenoLAB, the improved qualification and GMP-like validation of planned processes were the decisive factors to use the xCELLigence Cardio System."

The RTCA Cardio Instrument, a medium-throughput cell analyzer, utilizes impedance readings to monitor cardiac beating and cellular events in real time, featuring a unique detection rate and frequency measurement concept as well as dedicated software. Unlike synergistic techniques, such as the patch clamp, the new system can be used in a fully controlled environment for continuous short-term and long-term experiments, thus improving the applicable experimental time as well as the reproducibility and data quality. The instrument is the only 96-well, cardiotoxicity screening system on the market for continuous, real-time, label-free cardiomyocyte beating analysis. It can be used in conjunction with cardiomyocytes derived from human or mouse stem cells for assessing the cardiac safety profile of lead compounds or drug candidates during drug development.