BioIVT acquires Tissue Solutions Ltd., a UK-based virtual biobank

BioIVT, a leading provider of research models and services for drug and diagnostic development, has announced the acquisition of Tissue Solutions Ltd., a virtual biobank based in Glasgow, UK. Tissue Solutions provides medical researchers with high quality human tissue and other biological materials for use in drug discovery, target identification and validation, assay development and validation, and biomarker and companion diagnostic development.

“We are delighted that the Tissue Solutions team is joining BioIVT. They are well trained and exceptionally experienced with outstanding sourcing capabilities. They are also accustomed to working to the same industry leading quality and ethical standards as our employees. This acquisition will add 150 collection sites to BioIVT’s network, giving us greater access to high-quality control and disease state biospecimens and increased global reach for prospective collections. Furthermore, it will expand our skin product offerings for in vitro models,” said BioIVT CEO Jeff Gatz.

“I founded Tissue Solutions as a virtual biobank in 2007 based on the conviction that biopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations (CROs) needed better suppliers of high-quality, ethically-sourced biospecimens. It has been exciting to build Tissue Solutions to become a premier sourcing partner for our clients. We currently serve more than 200 global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and CROs,” said Morag McFarlane, Tissue Solutions CEO.

“We are now entering the next phase of our growth. In BioIVT, we have found a likeminded partner and together we can bring greater benefits to our clients. For example, Tissue Solutions’ sites complement BioIVT’s network, and our clients will gain access to BioIVT’s extensive portfolio of more than 300,000 biospecimens. There are so many similarities between our business approaches that we anticipate a smooth transition for our staff and our clients,” added Dr. McFarlane.

Tissue Solutions primarily supports research into oncology, blood disorders, and central nervous system, inflammatory, autoimmune, cardiovascular, infectious, and metabolic diseases.

Tissue Solutions provides fresh, frozen, and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) control tissue and skin samples; disease state peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs); fresh and frozen blood and biofluids; normal and mobilized leukopaks; and tissue microarray slides. The company also offers custom procurement to meet client-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria.

All BioIVT’s and Tissue Solutions’ biospecimens are fully consented, collected under institutional review board (IRB) oversight, and provided with the donor’s age, gender, race, disease confirmation, medications, comorbidities, and laboratory results.

BioIVT plans to continue operating Tissue Solutions’ facilities. Financial details about this transaction were not disclosed.

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