Biotech company MultiCell Technologies says it’s leaving its Warwick facilities on Friday to move into a larger, more modern space off Washington Highway in Lincoln.
The new space will “significantly upgrade” the company’s research capabilities, MultiCell said in a news release, and it will bring research functions in-house that are now outsourced.
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“We are expanding a number of existing research programs and developing new innovative cell-based technologies for liver support and liver tissue regeneration,” said Ron Faris, senior vice president and CSO. “Our new laboratories will enable us to keep pace with industry growth and expand the scope of work. We were fortunate to find this excellent space in Rhode Island.”
The expansion, which will occupy half a floor in the large research building, will expedite MultiCell’s developing liver cell-based products for commercial and therapeutic applications, and commercial production of its immortalized hepatic cell lines and therapeutic protein products and technology, the company said.
MultiCell has signed a three-year lease with CytoTherapies, Inc., now StemCell, Inc., which vacated the location when it relocated to California.
“This is first-class lab space ideally suited to our research activities,” said Janice DiPietro, chief financial officer. “There is no comparable space available in Rhode Island. We can now upgrade our equipment and conduct research activities we were purchasing from vendors and/or other research institutions.”
The change in leasing costs per square foot is “nominal,” DiPietro said.
MultiCell Technologies develops liver cell-based products for commercial and therapeutic applications. Company leaders say their immortalized human liver cells for drug discovery, toxicology and pharmacogenomic studies may offer pharmaceutical companies a more effective alternative to the primary animal cells widely used for these studies today.
MultiCell also has new strategies for isolation of adult human liver stem cells, on which they hold a patent. The company says it plans increased emphasis on stem cell research and development in 2005.
The new address is 701 George Washington Hwy., Lincoln, R.I. 02865.
