Plasticell in deal with pharma major to produce hematopoietic cells from iPSCs

UK biotech Plasticell has entered into a collaboration with pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) to use its combinatorial stem cell screening technology, CombiCult, to optimise the directed differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to specific blood cell lineages for use by GSK in its therapeutic research.

In the collaboration, Plasticell will use its CombiCult technology to screen combinations of molecules provided by GSK to identify and optimise iPSC differentiation protocols. Plasticell’s proprietary technology will allow the simultaneous screening of multiple iPSC lines, facilitating the development of a robust protocol that is applicable across lines. Financial terms of the collaboration are not disclosed

Commenting on the collaboration, Plasticell’s founder and executive chairman, Dr Yen Choo, said: “During the course of developing its therapeutic programs, Plasticell has acquired considerable expertise in pluripotent and hematopoietic stem cells, the derivation of specific hematopoietic cell types and the use of small molecules to drive stem cell differentiation. Moreover, Plasticell’s combinatorial and multiplexing technologies are an ideal solution for iPSC differentiation where high developmental potency and variability between different patient-derived cell lines often frustrates the search for robust and efficient differentiation protocols.”