Revvity is expanding its push into human-relevant drug discovery with an agreement to acquire France-based biotechnology company Human Cell Design (HCD), adding human pancreatic beta cell models to its life sciences portfolio.
The deal is aimed at strengthening Revvity’s capabilities in diabetes, obesity and other metabolic disease research, with a particular focus on next-generation GLP-1 and GPCR-targeting therapies.
The acquisition will combine HCD’s human cell models with Revvity’s existing capabilities in cell analysis, detection, high-content screening and gene editing.
“HCD brings differentiated human cell models that complement Revvity’s broad portfolio of technologies supporting drug discovery and development,” said Prahlad Singh, president and CEO of Revvity.
“As researchers continue to seek more human-relevant approaches to understanding biology, combining high-quality cell models with our capabilities in screening, detection, automation and analysis creates an opportunity to provide customers with more integrated solutions.”
At the center of HCD’s offering is its EndoC-βH5 human pancreatic beta cell model, designed to help researchers study beta cell physiology and function in diabetes and obesity research.
HCD also provides specialized media and reagents, preclinical research services and its proprietary NatLine cell-line development platform, which is designed to produce functionally consistent human cell models.
“Human Cell Design was founded on the belief that better human models can help transform the way medicines are discovered and developed,” said Guillaume Costecalde, founder and president of Human Cell Design.
“Joining Revvity is expected to allow us to bring our human cell models and NatLine technology to a broader global customer base while supporting the development of new physiologically relevant cell models.”
The acquisition could also deepen the integration between HCD’s cell models and Revvity’s drug-screening and detection technologies.
EndoC-βH5 cells can be used with Revvity’s HTRF and AlphaLISA assays to measure pharmacological readouts including cAMP and insulin, as well as with pHSense technology for receptor internalization studies. Revvity’s ATPlite assays can be used to assess cell viability and proliferation.
Revvity said the combined capabilities are also expected to extend into high-content screening and more advanced analysis of complex cellular data.
The move comes as pharmaceutical and biotechnology researchers increasingly seek human-relevant models to improve the translation of laboratory findings into therapies. Revvity also pointed to the growing role of wet-lab validation as AI-enhanced drug discovery develops, positioning human cell models as a tool for testing and validating AI-generated insights.
The potential applications extend beyond early-stage drug discovery. HCD’s technology can support research into regenerative medicine approaches for Type 1 diabetes and quality-control activities as cell-based therapies move toward commercialization.
If completed, the acquisition will give Revvity a broader platform spanning multiple stages of therapeutic research and development — from discovery and screening to preclinical research and emerging clinical and regenerative medicine applications.
