Plasticell, Pierre Fabre Ink Discovery Alliance

Plasticell, a biotechnology company specializing in stem cell differentiation, and Pierre Fabre, a French pharmaceutical lab,have entered a collaborationto discoverplant-based products that enhance the metabolic function of brown adipose tissue (BAT) – also known as ‘brown fat’. The collaboration will focus initially on screening extracts derived from the edible parts of plants, with the goal of developing functional foods or nutraceuticals.
 
Plasticell will screen Pierre Fabre’s ‘Nature Open Library’ collection of plant libraries of more than 15000 phytochemical extracts to identify natural products that increase the metabolic activity and other specific functions of BAT. Plasticell scientists may collaborate with Pierre Fabre and regulatory specialists on further development of products.
  
“This first collaboration with “Nature Open Library” in UK demonstrates that our initiative of open innovation can really promote new uses of plant extracts in many areas or domains, worldwide. We are confident and will do our best with Plasticell’s team to succeed in this project,” said Laurent Audoly, director R&D Pierre Fabre Pharmaceuticals.
 
“Obesity is the leading preventable cause of death, however only a handful of drugs exist to treat this condition – these have at best modest efficacy and potentially serious side effects. We aim to discover safe natural products that act on a newly discovered subtype of adipose tissue to increase the body’s energy expenditure, promoting weight loss without dieting and exercise,” said Dr. Yen Choo, the chairman of Plasticell.