It has been a major week in the stem cell industry, with partnerships, licensing deals, and pre-clinical findings recently announced. Check out the latest coverage below.
Cynata Shares Jump as Japan’s FUJIFILM Negotiates Deal to Commercialize Cymerus™ Stem Cell Technology
Cynata Therapeutics Limited (ASX: CYP), announced the execution of a term sheet with FUJIFILM Corporation of Japan for the development and commercialisation of certain Cynata technology, including Cynata’s lead stem cell product, CYP-001. According to the term sheet, Cynata would grant FUJIFILM an option to an “exclusive, worldwide licence to market and sell Cynata’s lead MSC product for prevention and treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), as well as (a) an option to negotiate a licence for manufacturing those products, and (b) certain rights to Cynata’s proprietary Cymerus™ technology for the prevention and treatment of other diseases.”
Infographic Highlights Preclinical Applications of iPSC-Derived Cells
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany, Axiogensis is one of a small number of companies specializing in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) products. In the first infographic, Axiogenesis presents the preclinical applications possible with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The second infographic features cell types that can be derived from human iPSCs, including cell types offered by Axiogenesis.
European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress Presentation Reveals Results From Pre-Clinical Study Using CardioCell’s Stem Cells for Acute Myocardial Infarction
CardioCell LLC, a company using allogeneic stem cells for cardiovascular indications, announces data from its pre-clinical study “Mesenchymal stem cells grown under chronic hypoxia traffic to regions of myocardial infarction, suppress splenic natural killer cells, and attenuate adverse remodeling in mice with large acute MI.” Pre-clinical results using a murine model show that intravenous injection of CardioCell’s ischemia-tolerant mesenchymal stem cells (itMSCs) improve cardiac function following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
BrainXell Enters into Global Licensing Agreement for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Patent Technology with iPS Academia Japan, Inc.
BrainXell Inc. (Madison, Wisconsin) and iPS Academia Japan, Inc. (Kyoto, Japan) have announced a global licensing agreement covering some of iPS Academia Japan’s induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell patent portfolio. BrainXell may now develop and commercialize iPS-derived cells and offer related services to its customers under this non-exclusive agreement. BrainXell uses its proprietary technology to direct human iPSCs to subtype-specific neural progenitors followed by expansion and rapid maturation.
Cord Blood Banking Industry – Key Benchmarks to Track (and Why You Should Care)
Benchmarks are critical to assess, because the cord blood banking industry has matured substantially over the past few years, creating both serious threats and novel opportunities. Therefore, judging individual company performance relative to the broader cord blood marketplace has become substantially more complex. Marketing pressures are also impacting the industry, with the term “cord blood” becoming one of the 20 most expensive search terms on Google.
Top 10 Cord Blood Banks Worldwide
This post considers the top 10 most influential and innovative cord blood banks worldwide. It is critical to be educated about these companies, because they set important standards and practices that affect all market participants. The criteria used for this analysis was the degree to which a cord blood bank has unique attributes that set it apart from the rest of the marketplace, such as having a large global reach, innovative business model, unique products or services, advanced marketing models, or other world-class attributes which distinguish it from the competition.
Event Update
The FDA’s public workshop entitled “Scientific Evidence in the Development of Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products Subject to Premarket Approval” is tomorrow, September 8, 2016. Let me know if you’ll be there?