Bothell-based BioLife Solutions, Inc. announced today that Discgenics, Inc. has incorporated the Bothell company’s CryoStor clinical grade cryopreservation freeze media in the development and potential commercialization of their Injectable Discogenic Cell Therapy product to treat patients suffering from low back pain associated with degenerative disc disease.
“We are very pleased to support the Discgenics team in the development of their novel cell-based spinal therapy for degenerative disc disease,” said BioLife CEO Mike Rice. “Effective biopreservation of source material and final manufactured doses is a critical success factor for the emerging regenerative medicine market. Discgenics selection of CryoStor is further validation of the potential for our proprietary biopreservation media products to become new standards for shipping, storing, freezing and delivering cell and tissue based products to patients.”
Musculoskeletal disorders of the spine associated with low back pain are the leading cause of disability in people less than 45 years old. Back pain is the second most common reason to visit a physician, the fifth most common cause of admission to the hospital and the third most common reason for a surgical procedure according to the Bothell company. The financial impact to the United States’ economy in both treatment dollars and lost worker productivity is estimated to be more than $100 billion.
“We evaluated CryoStor against traditional home brew and commercial freeze media cocktails,” said Chief Operating and Commercialization Officer of Discgenics, Bob Wynalek. “CryoStor provided excellent post-thaw cell viability, recovery and potency. The serum-free, protein-free formulation, FDA drug master file, available technical support and current use by numerous other clinical stage regenerative medicine companies all supported our decision to incorporate CryoStor into our production and delivery processes.”
BioLife Solutions is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of proprietary clinical grade hypothermic storage and cryopreservation freeze media for cells and tissues, and contract aseptic media manufacturer. Discogenics is a privately held development stage regenerative medicine company out of Salt Lake City, UT.
