Friday, November 24, 2017
KMT Hepatech, Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement to join efforts with PhoenixBio Co., Ltd. (PhoenixBio). Together they will advance the use of the cDNA-uPA/SCID mouse model with highly humanized liver to support researchers across a wide range of drug development fields. KMT will become a subsidiary of PhoenixBio group effective November 30, 2017. PhoenixBio plans to invest in KMT and expand its operations.
The uPA/SCID mouse model with a highly humanized liver was first on the market and has been the most utilized mouse model with up to 95 % engraftment of human hepatocytes. The model made an important contribution to the development of curative therapies for hepatitis C (HCV) and is currently the gold standard for hepatitis B (HBV) efficacy testing prior to clinical development of anti-HBV drugs. With expanding interest in humanized liver models across a range of applications, the model is also used in safety, toxicity and human-type drug metabolism studies.
“The possibility of joining forces of our two companies that operate with the most advanced and the most utilized chimeric mouse model opens new horizons in helping our clients in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to develop new effective and safe therapies,” - says Dr. Norman Kneteman, President and CEO of KMT Hepatech. “We see this new relationship providing increased depth of expertise and resulting in an expansion of KMT facilities, activity and staffing in Edmonton.”
“PhoenixBio’s motto is to advance and to improve human health and the quality of life. And we shall become and maintain the leadership position in our field of technology. We are confident that we can share the same values with KMT Hepatech by this merger” – says Kenji Kuramoto, President of PhoenixBio.
