Axol Bioscience has fully acquired Phenocell, though financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The acquisition extends Axol’s portfolio of iPSC-derived cell models, adding skin and human retinal iPSC-derived cell lines to its existing neuroscience, pain and touch, and cardiovascular products and services.

Phenocell’s offering includes human iPSC-derived sebocytes and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and photoreceptor cells. Additionally, the company provides custom, skin and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) services to support drug discovery companies.

Liam Taylor, CEO, Axol Bioscience, said: “Axol has previously operated in three areas of drug research and discovery: neuroscience, pain and touch, and cardiovascular drug discovery. This acquisition enables us to extend our product portfolio into ophthalmology and dermatology and offer iPSC-based skin and vision loss models. We are delighted to welcome Phenocell to the Axol Bioscience family and look forward to building an even wider range of advanced in vitro models of human disease, combining our shared values and passion to accelerate drug discovery.”

“We have built a unique set of products and services over the last decade to meet the growing requirements from the drug discovery and cosmetic industries to move from primary models to more consistent, human iPSC-derived models,” added Brigitte Onteniente, CEO and founder of Phenocell. “As part of Axol Bioscience we look forward to working with Liam and the team to develop a larger range of models, to serve a wider market.”

In June 2023, Axol signed an exclusive agreement with StrataStem to access and commercialise its collection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patient samples.

Diana Spencer, Senior Digital Content Editor, DDW