FDA Clears Life Technologies' OpTmizer T-Cell Growth Medium for Use in Clinical Trials

Life Technologies LIFE today announced it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its OpTmizer™ CTS™ T-Cell Expansion Tissue Culture Medium – a reagent that is now cleared as a Class II medical device and offers cost- and time-saving advantages for transitioning studies from the research bench to clinical trials. The OpTmizer™ CTS™ T-Cell Expansion Tissue Culture Medium is intended for human ex vivo (outside the body) tissue and cell culture processing application. This means it is designed to efficiently grow large numbers of potentially therapeutic T-cells, which have demonstrated promise in clinical studies as an effective treatment for diseases including cancer, infectious diseases such as AIDS, and autoimmune disorders. "We are very pleased to learn of Life Technologies' successful outcome in achieving its FDA 510(k) regulatory clearance for its OpTmizer™ CTS™ T-Cell Expansion Tissue Culture Medium, and we value the close working relationship we have established with Life Tech," said Neil K. Warma, President & CEO of Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. "The receipt of 510(k) status for OpTmizer CTS T-cell expansion media simplifies the regulatory path for Opexa as we continue the development of Tcelna™, a T-cell immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis." See full press release