A Cambridge University technology team that developed a way to generate liver cells from skin cells has formed a new company to supply stem cell products to the drug discovery and regenerative medicine sectors.
DefiniGEN is based on the research of Dr Ludovic Vallier, Dr Tamir Rashid and global stem cell guru Professor Roger Pedersen of the Anne McLaren Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine.
DefiniGEN is based in Cambridge and has been funded by a group led by Cambridge Enterprise, the Universitys commercialisation arm, along with members of Cambridge Angels and Cambridge Capital Group.
Prof Pedersen is one of the coveted brains of stem cell research. He moved to Cambridge to escape a puritan US approach to stem cell research and has resisted attempts to woo him back across the Atlantic.
The potential therapeutic applications of stem cells such as regenerating damaged tissues or organs have generated a great deal of interest over the past decade. While these types of applications are exciting, it is a long journey from lab to clinic.
The most immediate impact of stem cells on human health will most likely come from their use in the development of new drugs. The ability to generate stem cells by reprogramming cells from patients skin has revolutionised human stem cell research.
These cells, known as human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSC), can be differentiated into almost any cell type, allowing the opportunity to have a ready source of human cells for testing new therapies.
DefiniGEN has developed the technology to generate human liver cells (hepatocytes) in a highly reproducible and scalable manner for commercial use. This represents a major breakthrough in the costly and time-consuming process of developing new therapies.
The technology has also been used to effectively model a diverse range of inherited liver diseases and has the potential to accelerate the development of new therapies for these conditions.
The liver is the key organ for metabolising drugs and removing toxins from the body. Consequently, it is often affected by toxic compounds.
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Pedersen creates stem cell drug powerhouse
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