Astellas Pharma announced it is acquiring Ocata Therapeutics for $379M. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Astellas is the second largest drug company in Japan, generating over $10 billion in drug sales last year, while Ocata is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Astellas’ cash flow is essential, because the company has agreed to pay $8.50 a share for Ocata, a 79% premium over the stock price last Friday. [Read more…]
[BREAKING] Hitachi and CiRA at Kyoto Univeristy to Create Healthy Volunteers’ iPS Cell Panel
Hitachi, Ltd. and the Center for iPS Cell Research & Application (CiRA) at Kyoto University Agree to Collaborate
Important news was announced today within the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS cell) industry in a press release distributed by Hitachi, Ltd.  The press release announced that Hitachi, Ltd. and the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University have reached an agreement to collaborate in building a “healthy volunteers’ iPS cell panel.” [Read more…]
CDI, a FUJIFILM company, Announces Launch of World’s Largest Public Stem Cell Bank
Cellular Dynamics International Announces Launch of CIRM hPSC Repository and First 300 iPSC Lines
Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), a FUJIFILM company since March of 2015, announced news today that has reverberated throughout the stem cell community, suggesting hope and progress for the future of stem cell research.
As an indisputable leader in the the manufacture and production of iPS cell products, Cellular Dynamics was awarded a $16 million grant by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine in March of 2013. In that landmark funding awarded, CIRM allocated $16 million for CDI to create 3 induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from 3000 healthy and diseased donors. At the same time, CIRM awarded Coriell Institute approximately $10 million to structure and store the iPSC lines within a secure biobanking facility, of which CDI was to be a “primary subcontractor.” [Read more…]
Do You Know the Top 5 iPS Cell Influencers (Right Now)?
Since induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were first produced in 2006 from mouse cells and in 2007 from human cells, scientists have recognized the incredible potential of the cell type, including their utility in drug and toxicology screening, disease modeling, and cellular therapy applications ranging from gene correction, to whole tissue regeneration, individualized medicine, and more. Given the financial potential of the cell type, it is important to have strategies for accessing key individuals, events, and iPSC facilities.
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The Market for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Research Products – Rate of Entrants, by Year
Are you an executive at a stem cell company that offers induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) research products? Or, are you an investor in a company of this type? If so, have you wondered how much market competition exists for your products or services? Have you been curious as to the rate at which this competition is increasing? By focusing on these key points of understanding, you’ll be able to assess the technical attributes that matter, including what opportunities exist for expanding your product line and your customer reach.
iPSC research products have existed since 2006, the year in which Shinya Yamanaka’s team at Kyoto University first produced iPSCs from mouse cells. Â The discovery was a vital advancement in stem cell research, as it allows researchers to obtain pluripotent stem cells without the difficult legal, technical and ethical controversies that have long surrounded deriving cells from embryos. Â Yamanaka and his team reprogrammed adult mouse fibroblasts into iPSCs by introducing four reprogramming factors: Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4. Â Subsequent work by James Thomson and colleagues replicated Yamanaka’s success with human cells and revealed additional factors, Nanog and Lin28, which facilitate the reprogramming process.
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