This week stem cell industry participants announced major collaborations, patent awards, research advances, and more. Check out our stem cell industry coverage below and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Interview with Paul Wotton, Current Board Member of Cynata Therapeutics and Previous President/CEO of Ocata Therapeutics

This is an exclusive interview with Dr. Paul Wotton, who joined Cynata Therapeutics (ASX: CYP) Board of Directors in June of 2016. Cynata is an Australian company that is developing a therapeutic stem cell platform technology originating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison that utilizes iPSCs are starting material for generating nearly unlimited quantities of MSCs. Dr. Wotton was previously President and CEO of Ocata Therapeutics, joining the company in July 2014 and managing it through an all-cash take-over by Atellas Pharma valued at $379 million.

ORIG3N and Kangstem Biotech Partner to Investigate Induced Neural Stem Cells for Disease Modeling

Boston biotech company ORIG3N has announced a collaboration with South Korea’s Kangstem Biotech in a joint effort to gain insight into the effectiveness of induced neural stem cells (iNSC) in disease modeling. As a pioneer of regenerative medicine, ORIG3N is leading the way towards the future of medicine by crowdsourcing blood samples to create the world’s largest and most diverse biorepository of stem cells. As part of this collaboration, Kangstem Biotech will be providing iNSC’s to ORIG3N for research.

CDI and National Eye Institute to Collaborate on iPSC-Derived Cell Therapies for Retinal Degenerative Disease

Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), a FUJIFILM company, announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Eye Institute, a division of the NIH, to conduct research to advance a cell transplantation therapy for the treatment of retinal degenerative disease using retinal pigment epithelium derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-RPE). The collaboration includes the joint development of an optimized biocompatible biodegradable scaffold that is likely to be a critical component for a potential future therapy.

Commence Bio Receives 1st Patent for MSC1, An Innovative Cancer Immunotherapy Platform

Commence Bio announced that the company has received its first patent for MSC1.
Commence Bio is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company that is based on the concept that cancer and other inflammatory conditions can be addressed by “rebooting patients’ immune systems” with a new class of medicinal stem cells, MSC1 and MSC2. The company is now developing a therapeutic pipeline, as well as offering research products that include MSC1 and MSC2 cells and media.

Do You Know the Top “Quality Guarantees” Among U.S. Cord Blood Banks?

A characteristic that can distinguish one cord blood bank from another is the amount of its quality guarantee. Currently, the top cord blood banks in the U.S offer quality guarantee packages that range from $25,000 – $90,000, with Americord topping that list at $90,000. Interestingly, Americord raised its guarantee from $80,000 to $90,000 in mid-2014 to further separate itself from the competition and increase its trustworthiness in the eyes of its clients. The primary reason for a cord blood bank to offer a quality guarantee is to reassure prospects that banking their children’s cord blood is a protected investment.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells – Advances & Applications [Global Strategic Report; 250 Pages]

As of July 2016, our highest-demand market report is “Mesenchymal Stem Cells – Advances & Applications.” You should view it because: 1) MSCs are one of the fastest growing areas of stem cell research, 2) MSCs are now more frequently cited than any other stem cell type within the scientific literature, and 3) Google Trend data shows MSC searches to be approximately twice as common as the next most common adult stem cell type. The market for MSCs is growing. Are you informed about market opportunities and ready to act on them now?

About BioInformant

BioInformant is the first and only market research firm to specialize exclusively in the stem cell industry. BioInformant research has been cited by major news outlets that include the Wall Street Journal, Nature Biotechnology, Medical Ethics, Vogue Magazine, and more. Serving Fortune 500 leaders that include GE Healthcare, Pfizer, and Goldman Sachs, BioInformant is your global leader in stem cell industry data.