HemoShear, LLC, Launches HepaShear Division

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HemoShear, LLC, a developer of innovative, cell-based, human surrogate models for discovery and assessment of new drug compounds in the laboratory announces the formation of a new division, HepaShear, to develop an advanced human surrogate model of the liver.

“HepaShear will provide scientific expertise and a proprietary model to study liver diseases and accelerate discovery of innovative drug therapies in a novel system that closely mimics the biology and architecture of the human liver”

“HepaShear will provide scientific expertise and a proprietary model to study liver diseases and accelerate discovery of innovative drug therapies in a novel system that closely mimics the biology and architecture of the human liver,” said Brett Blackman, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of HemoShear.

Utilizing HemoShear’s proprietary technology, which applies human blood flow patterns to recreate the biology of organ tissue, HepaShear will vastly improve pharmaceutical scientists’ ability to identify new drug targets and discover compounds that have a greater likelihood of successful treatment of liver diseases in humans.

“Current methods do not adequately predict human biological responses to new drugs despite extensive testing in the laboratory and in animals. The HepaShear human surrogate model of the liver will be far more predictive of human responses and reduce risk of costly drug development failures,” said Brian Wamhoff, Ph.D., Vice President of R&D for HemoShear.

Wamhoff predicted the research would have profound effects. “I fully expect we will transform the way biomedical and pharmacological research will be conducted in the future by creating vastly improved models of liver function in order to study and treat liver diseases, such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, and improve drug efficacy for metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, ” Wamhoff said.

The Company expects to complete development of the liver model and begin HepaShear’s commercial operations by late 2010.

About HemoShear, LLC

HemoShear’s proprietary technology recreates physiological function of human cells and tissue by applying human-derived blood flow forces to cultures of primary human vascular cells in the laboratory. HemoShear works in strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to identify and validate pathways of disease progression, and to assess the efficacy and safety of new drug compounds. For information about HemoShear, please visit www.hemoshear.com.