SkinInVitro2010 will take place in Frankfurt, Germany on 8-9 June

Reconstructed epidermal models already fully replace animal testing for skin corrosivity and skin irritation testing. They are used for substance testing in the regulatory context of the cosmetics directive and under the REACH legislation. More complex skin models are established research tools for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry as well as for academia. The diversity of skin models and applications in this area is growing rapidly. The scope of the SkinInVitro 2010 symposium is to discuss in depth the progress in use of skin models in research, efficacy and toxicity testing. The symposium will be organised by the Association of German Biotechnology Companies in cooperation with CellSystems® Biotechnologie Vertrieb GmbH.

For full details please see www.skininvitro2010.org

XCellR8 to provide training and technical support in partnership with Sigma Aldrich

We are delighted to announce a new strategic partnership between XCellR8 and Sigma Aldrich, enhancing the availability of training and technical support services to the cell culture community

Dr Carol Barker, XCellR8’s Managing Director, explained the basis of this exciting new alliance: “Cell culture can be prone to technical problems, and losing time to pinpoint the source can lead to costly project delays. At XCellR8 we adopt a unique approach to bring swift and effective solutions to our customers - delivering independent support that looks at the whole picture – not just one product, brand or procedure. A unique range of cell culture troubleshooting tools is used to resolve issues, and to provide standard and customised training courses. We also assist customers with setting up new cell culture facilities or introducing new techniques to their laboratories. Our new strategic partnership with Sigma Aldrich represents a fantastic opportunity to spread the benefits of this fresh approach to cell culture support to a significantly wider audience than was previously possible, and brings opportunities for significant growth for XCellR8.”

Simon Nikolay, Sigma Aldrich’s European Business Development Manager for Research Cell Culture, added: “Sigma Aldrich is delighted to enhance its offering to cell culture customers in partnership with XCellR8. We recognise the clear benefits to our customers of a “holistic” approach to cell culture support and training, and the alliance will bring easy access to this new generation of support services”.

For more information about Sigma Cell Culture click here

XCellR8 now distributes a new generation of human primary cell culture products!

XCellR8 and German-based CellSystems GmbH have concluded a deal, providing distribution rights to XCellR8 in the UK and Ireland for the US Lifeline Cell Technology® products and CellSystems’ human skin models and growth factors.

CellSystems has been providing the life science community with sophisticated cell biology products for over 15 years. The product range currently includes primary human cells and media, distributed throughout Europe on behalf of the US company Lifeline Cell Technology®, and two human skin models - EST-1000 and AST-2000 - developed by the company’s own R&D scientists. For more information visit

For more information click here

The UK represents around 30% of the European cell culture market, so developing local presence with a suitable partner company is an important factor in CellSystems’ plans to increase total market share. Dr Carol Barker, XCellR8’s Managing Director, says of the deal: “This is not just great news for both companies. It is great news for life sciences researchers in the UK and Ireland, who can now access greater choice and quality in human cell culture products. XCellR8 is looking forward to providing its customers with best-in-class products backed by unrivalled technical support and customer service.”

For more details click here to view our product range, call us on +44 (0)845-258-1684, or email us info@x-cellr8.com