Plasticell signs technology agreement with Sigma-Aldrich
Collaboration will produce novel turnkey solution for stem cell research
Plasticell, a UK biotechnology company specialising in high throughput technologies for directed stem cell differentiation, has signed a collaboration agreement with Sigma-Aldrich.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sigma-Aldrich will use its CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease technology to engineer various human stem cell lines that enable tracking of differentiation to specific mature cell types via fluorescent reporters, integrated directly into developmentally expressed genes. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Sigma-Aldrich says the technology enables precisely targeted knock-in of reporters, resulting in more reliable reporter systems than conventional transgenic methods. Plasticell will then use these cell lines in its CombiCult high throughput screening (HTS) system to develop novel stem cell differentiation protocols. Plasticell will own resulting protocols for high efficiency, directed differentiation of stem cells, with Sigma-Aldrich marketing the reporter stem cell lines.
‘We have already demonstrated that using fluorescent reporter lines in CombiCult experiments offers a highly convenient, real-time, visual readout for stem cell differentiation,’ said Marina Tarunina, Plasticell’s senior scientist.
‘Providing reporter cells as part of CombiCult enables us to offer industry partners a complete ‘turnkey’ solution for HTS with stem cells, ideally suited for in-house screening of compound libraries within pharmaceutical companies.’