There are an estimated 170 million people chronically infected with HCV (hepatitis C virus) worldwide who are at high risk for the development of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The lack of cell-based models capable of supporting infection and replication of HCV has hampered the identification of new drugs to treat HCV related diseases.

The collaborative studies will be directed by Dr. Mark Feitelson, a world renowned leader in viral hepatitis. "The recent discovery of a human liver tumor cell line that replicates the full length HCV genome provides the impetus for the collaboration with MultiCell," said Dr. Feitelson. "There is an urgent need for normal human hepatocyte cell lines that not only model the viral life cycle but also retain the capability to metabolize antiviral drugs."

MultiCell's Chief Science Officer, Dr. Ron Faris, said, "Successful completion of these studies will lead to the development of new high throughput assays (high speed drug testing kits) to screen for antiviral drugs using the Company's proprietary immortalized human hepatocytes."

MultiCell Technologies