HemaCare Corp., a provider of human blood and immune cells for medical therapies and research, has partnered with Vital River to distribute its product in the Chinese market, according to a statement from HemaCare on Tuesday. Vital River is a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based Charles River Laboratories International Inc., which has an existing partnership with HemaCare dating back to February 2018. The strategic partnership with Charles River aims to advance human immune system research through the integration of HemaCare’s peripheral blood mononuclear cells. With Vital River, the Northridge company looks to provide the scientific community in China with direct access to healthy and disease-state human cells, HemaCare said in a statement. “We are excited to continue expanding our relationship with Charles River and partner with their Vital River subsidiary to continue to strengthen and expand our global presence,” Pete van der Wal, chief executive of HemaCare, said in a statement. “China represents a tremendous market for us, and Vital River, as the leading provider of tools and services for biopharmaceutical research in China, is the ideal partner to further drive our growth in this exciting, rapidly growing market.” Shares of HemaCare (HEMA) closed Tuesday up 49 cents, or nearly 3.5 percent, to $14.54 on the over-the-counter market.
