ReproCELL, Inc.,a biotech company, develops stem cell technologies for researchers and clinicians in Japan, announced complete subsidiary acquisition of English company Biopta Limited (Biopta). The decision to this effect was taken at a director meeting held on November 24, 2015.

ReproCELL has up to now been involved in the global development of research reagent products and cell products through its use of cutting edge techniques involving human iPS cells, and continues healthy business expansion in said market, which is showing remarkable development.

Biopta, the company purchased, offer a drug development support service targeted at the drug industry, and can boast to having dealings with 8 of the top 10 mega pharma companies. The drug development support service offered by Biopta is an outsourcing business that, through human cell activities, carries out research and tests for exploratory research and preclinical testing, which up until now were carried out using animal testing. This field’s potential market size is expected to rise to ¥1,750,000,000,000, and is attracting a lot of attention. The biggest strength of the company is its ability to use the network of medical institutions that it owns across England and America to acquire very fresh human tissue and internal organs in a timely manner. From this abundant cell lineup, the company can pick up human tissue and internal organs requested at the preclinical trial stage of drug development, allowing it to offer an outsourced drug development support service that is desirable to individual clients.

“Through this purchase, Biopta’s drug development support service joins the business lineup of our company group, allowing it to target pharmaceutical companies, covering both providing products and delegated research. Further, making use of the synergy of our company group’s global, cutting edge iPS cell cultivation technology and Biopta’s GLP certified equipment and its high level of service knowhow in using it, as a new part of our business we can start on the early stages of an unprecedented “preclinical test service business using iPS cells” and create a real competitive superiority,” said Chikafumi Yokoyama Ph.D, chief executive officer of ReproCELL, Inc.