BrainXell and iPS Academia Japan have announced a global licensing agreement covering components of the induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell patent portfolio owned by iPS Academia Japan. Under the terms of the non-exclusive agreement, BrainXell will be able to commercialize iPS-derived cells and offer related services to it customers. The value and terms of the agreement have not been announced.
The iPS cell patent portfolio being licensed by BrainXell has resulted from work by Professor Shinya Yamanaka at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Kyoto University.
BrainXell is a a stem cell company based in Madison, Wisconsin, while iPS Academia Japan is based in Kyoto, Japan. BrainXell specializes in using iPSC-derived neural cells for use on a custom basis to pharmaceutical companies for research programs. iPS Academia Japan is an affiliate of Kyoto University, a major research university in Japan. Kyoto University is also a global leader in developing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies.
BrainXell is making brain cells by the billions. @UWMadison spinoff sells neural cells to drug researchers via @UWMadScience. pic.twitter.com/zuw6l0EMec
— CIRM (@CIRMnews) November 1, 2016
The role of iPS Acadmia Japan is to commercialize the patents and other IP created by Kyoto University and other universities and research institutions developing iPSC technologies.
According to Zhong-Wei Du, Chief Technology Officer of BrainXell, “BrainXell is now enabled through this iPS cell technology license and its Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) license on neural stem cell differentiation to provide a broad range of neural cells for research at numerous institutions and biopharmaceutical companies.”