YiPSCELL-Xcell Therapeutics Announce Collaboration to Develop a Dedicated Medium for iPSC Artificial Red Blood Cells 

YiPSCELL, a leading iPSC (iPSC-induced pluripotent stem cell) research and development company in Korea, and Xcell Therapeutics, a media development company, announced on the 23rd that they have signed a strategic partnership agreement to develop a dedicated media (Serum-Free Chemically Defined Media for iPSCs), which is attracting attention as a core technology for next-generation regenerative medicine.

Through this agreement, the two companies plan to further expand the scope of their respective development platforms. Initially, the companies will collaborate to develop media for iPSC culture, and based on this, they will also collaborate to produce artificial red blood cells through iPSCs.

According to market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the global stem cell market, which was valued at $13.78 billion (KRW 15.36 trillion) in 2019, is expected to expand to $23.95 billion (KRW 27 trillion) by 2025 with a compound annual growth rate of 10.2%.

iPSCs, which YiPSCELL is focusing on researching, are cells that have been reversely differentiated into undifferentiated cells by reversing the process of adult skin, blood, and other cells that have already grown into adults. iPSCs can be used to obtain pluripotency that matches the patient's genes without going through the cloning process from somatic cells, so they are attracting attention as a key technology for next-generation regenerative medicine, and unlike embryonic stem cells, they are also free from ethical issues.

YiPSCELL recently succeeded in selling its first clinical-grade induced pluripotent stem cell line in recognition of its technology, and signed a joint research agreement with Daewoong Pharmaceutical to secure source technology for developing artificial red blood cells using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and to advance production technology.

Xcell Therapeutics developed the world's first GMP-grade Serum-Free Chemically Defined Media for hMSCs and has been commercializing DPC and Keratinocyte-specific media. Recently, the company has launched an exosome-specific medium and plans to launch a natural killer (NK) cell-specific medium within the year.

Xcell Therapeutics explains that as the importance of serum-free chemotactic media is growing in the field of advanced bio, the company's media development platform has the advantage of developing optimal media recipes in the shortest time.

At the signing ceremony, YiPSCELL CEO Joo Ju-hyun said, "We have high expectations for joint research with Xcell Therapeutics, which has achieved localization with high-level technology in the field of cell culture media, which used to be entirely imported." "Let's continue to strengthen cooperation between the two companies, starting with the development of customized media for induced pluripotent stem cells and continuing with media for artificial red blood cell production."

"We are pleased to collaborate with YiPSCELL, which is leading the development of next-generation cell therapeutics," said Dr. Lee. "We will continue to contribute to the growth of the bio industry by developing specialized media for advanced bio in various fields."

Source : Biotimes (http://www.biotimes.co.kr)