Pfizer buys into Cambridge life science innovation

Stem cell technology pioneer,DefiniGEN Ltdhas joined the Pfizer-inspired European Bank for induced pluripotent stem cells (EBiSC) consortium.

The consortium comprises 26 partners, and has been newly-formed with support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).

DefiniGen, a Cambridge University spin-out that has raised millions, represents one of the first commercial opportunities to arise from the universitys expertise in stem cells and is based on the research of Dr Ludovic Vallier, Dr Tamir Rashid and Professor Roger Pedersen of the universitys Anne McLaren Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine.

The EBiSC iPS cell bank will act as a central storage and distribution facility for human iPS cells, to be used by researchers across academia and industry in the study of disease and the development of new therapeutics. DefiniGENs role will be to validate EBiSC iPS cell lines by generating liver hepatocyte cells for toxicology, disease modelling, and regenerative medicine applications.

Dr Marcus Yeo, CEO of DefiniGEN, said: We are delighted to be a part of this ground-breaking consortium which will provide a crucial platform resource to enable the realisation of the full potential of iPS technology.

Conceptualised and coordinated by Pfizer Ltd in Cambridge, UK and managed by Roslin Cells Ltd in Edinburgh, the EBiSC bank aims to become the European go to resource for high quality research grade human iPS cells.

Today, iPS cells are being created in an increasing number of research programmes underway in Europe, but are not being systematically catalogued and distributed at the necessary scale to keep pace with their generation, nor to meet future demand.

The 35 million project will support the initial build of a robust, reliable supply chain from the generation of customised cell lines, the specification to internationally accepted quality criteria and their distribution to any global qualified user, ensuring accessibility to consistent, high quality tools for new medicines development.

Ruth McKernan, CSO of Pfizers Neusentis research unit in Cambridge, said: We are excited to be a part of this precompetitive collaboration to build a sustainable repository of high quality human iPS cell lines.

For many areas of research in academia and in industry, understanding the biological basis of disease heterogeneity is the next horizon. A bank of well-characterised iPS lines with strong relevance to the entire research community will help us all in our mission to bring therapies to patients.

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Pfizer buys into Cambridge life science innovation