3D Biomatrix Awarded Key Patent in Largest Cell Culture Market

3D Biomatrix, Inc., a leader in the three-dimensional (3D) cell culture market, announced the issuance of its U.S. Patent for technology included in the Perfecta3D Hanging Drop Plates, a novel platform that makes 3D spheroid, microtissue and embryoid body growth, along with an array of co-cultures, simple and inexpensive to perform.

Commenting on this favorable decision for 3D Biomatrix, CEO Laura Schrader noted, “This issuance is the first, and only, U.S. patent for a Hanging Drop Plate platform like ours. U.S. life scientists can continue to depend on 3D Biomatrix for our easy and cost-effective 3D cell culture research tools for a long time, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also granted an extension of the patent expiration date to 2035, providing us a lengthy runway to hold this position in the large U.S. marketplace.”

3D Biomatrix’s U.S. patent #8906685 describes a complete hanging drop system within a standard 96- or 384-well plate platform that allows the growth and analysis of one spheroid, microtissue or embryoid body per well, without adherence to an unnatural plastic surface or other substance, and the inclusion of a water or media reservoir that acts as a humidity source to alleviate evaporation.

Researchers have long tested drug compounds and other factors affecting cell growth on flat surfaces in two dimensions (2D), but 2D cell cultures do not accurately represent how cells behave in the three-dimensional body. 3D cell cultures grown in the Perfecta3D Hanging Drop Plates allow scientists to recapitulate these characteristics in vitro, providing a more physiologically-relevant model to test compounds and other factors in a 3D environment that reflects the human body. The Perfecta3D Hanging Drop Plates work with existing laboratory equipment; specialized instrumentation is not required for manual or high-throughput 3D cell culture research.

3D Biomatrix and the University of Michigan are listed as the assignees of the patent. 3D Biomatrix holds an exclusive license for worldwide rights to the intellectual property covered by this patent.