ZenBio, Inc. Awarded $1.88 Million Phase II SBIR Grant for Mesothelial Cell Program

Jan. 22, 2009 - PRLog -- RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC - ZenBio, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a Phase II SBIR grant to commercialize their primary human peritoneal mesothelial cells. The $1.88 million award from the National Institutes of Health will fund the continued optimization and commercial development of this unique tool for cancer, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Mesothelial cells are specialized epithelial cells lining the peritoneal, pleural, and pericardial cavities, as well as internal organs providing a frictionless barrier to facilitate movement of organs and tissues.  Pleural mesothelial cells are the target cells in asbestos-induced mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelial cells are the attachment points for metastasizing ovarian cancer cells, making them a potential target for cancer therapeutics.  “These are highly active cells”, said Ben Buehrer, Ph.D., Vice President of ZenBio. “They secrete factors can have local and systemic effects on several medical indications from cancer progression to metabolic diseases.”  This grant will allow ZenBio to make well characterized mesothelial cells available to the wider research community.

Preliminary studies at ZenBio and elsewhere have revealed that mesothelial cells profoundly affect adipocyte function.  “Many of the factors involved in the progression of obesity and diabetes are actually made and secreted in large amounts by mesothelial cells”, said Dr. Renee Lea-Currie, ZenBio’s Director of Cell Biology and the Principal Investigator of the program. “This grant will allow us to dig deeper into the obesity connection while supplying researchers with a validated human cell system for their own discovery efforts”.  Peter Pieraccini, President of ZenBio, commented “This is a great opportunity for ZenBio.  We will be commercializing a primary cell system that is a link in the cascade of events leading to obesity and diabetes as well as some more common cancers.”

ZenBio, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, is a leading provider of research tools for the study of human metabolic disease. The company, founded in 1995 performs contract research for major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world. The company pioneered tissue engineering with adult adipose-derived stem cells and is currently investigating the role obesity plays in the development and onset of metabolic disease. Its mission is to provide the highest quality cells, reagents and contract services to the biomedical research community; to develop and commercialize research tools; and to leverage its expertise in this field as a contract research organization. For more information visit the company website or call (919)-547-0692; 1-866-ADIPOSE or e-mail Peter Pieraccini peter@zenbio.com

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Zen-Bio is a human cell biology company. Our focus is to meet the urgent need of investigators interested in understanding human obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.