BALTIMORE—On May 13, Celsis International Ltd. announced the subsidiary Celsis In Vitro Inc. (Celsis IVT) has reached a settlement agreement with XenoTech LLC, Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd., and Sekisui Medical Co. Ltd. in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Celsis IVT on Feb. 2, 2010, regarding U.S. Patent No. 7,604,929.
The lawsuit involved a patent owned by Celsis IVT relating to processes for producing its LiverPool products. The LiverPool products are multi-cryopreserved, pooled hepatocyte products used by pharmaceutical companies to evaluate potential drug compounds.
As part of the settlement agreement, XenoTech has agreed to cease manufacturing and selling its CryoXTreme products. Other terms of the settlement agreement are confidential.
"Celsis believes in the fundamental importance of respecting patents and other forms of intellectual property, and we intend to defend the time and energy we have invested in our LiverPool product line and patents," says Jay LeCoque, CEO of Celsis. "I am pleased that this lawsuit has been settled and that CryoXTreme has been removed from the market."
Since 1990, Celsis IVT has been a global provider of specialized in vitro products for the study of metabolism, drug-drug interactions and toxicity in drug discovery and development, aiding pharma companies in their lead optimization efforts. LiverPool hepatocytes are produced from high-quality, nontransplantable liver tissue from fresh, whole livers. Their viability is said to be greater than 70 percent and the cells exhibit both phase I and II enzyme activities.
Privately held contract research organization XenoTech, founded in 1994, which specializes in preclinical safety studies, was acquired Sekisui America Corp. in 2008 to strengthen Sekisui Medical by establishing a U.S. presence and expanding its customer base.
The lawsuit involved a patent owned by Celsis IVT relating to processes for producing its LiverPool products. The LiverPool products are multi-cryopreserved, pooled hepatocyte products used by pharmaceutical companies to evaluate potential drug compounds.
As part of the settlement agreement, XenoTech has agreed to cease manufacturing and selling its CryoXTreme products. Other terms of the settlement agreement are confidential.
"Celsis believes in the fundamental importance of respecting patents and other forms of intellectual property, and we intend to defend the time and energy we have invested in our LiverPool product line and patents," says Jay LeCoque, CEO of Celsis. "I am pleased that this lawsuit has been settled and that CryoXTreme has been removed from the market."
Since 1990, Celsis IVT has been a global provider of specialized in vitro products for the study of metabolism, drug-drug interactions and toxicity in drug discovery and development, aiding pharma companies in their lead optimization efforts. LiverPool hepatocytes are produced from high-quality, nontransplantable liver tissue from fresh, whole livers. Their viability is said to be greater than 70 percent and the cells exhibit both phase I and II enzyme activities.
Privately held contract research organization XenoTech, founded in 1994, which specializes in preclinical safety studies, was acquired Sekisui America Corp. in 2008 to strengthen Sekisui Medical by establishing a U.S. presence and expanding its customer base.
