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Print Edition StoriesThursday, April 23, 2009
Stemgent, Fate Therapeutics launch stem cell platform
By Mass High Tech staff
MHT's Marc Songini: Mass. bio firms prep for lifting of stem cell ban
Stem cell research and technology firms Stemgent Inc. of Cambridge and Fate Therapeutics Inc. of California have jointly developed Catalyst, an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology platform for use by biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms.
The iPS technology was discovered by Sheng Ding, scientific founder of Stemgent and Fate Therapeutics and associate professor of The Scripps Research Institute. Ding found that iPS cells could be made without genetic modification risk, using cell-penetrating proteins.
The iPS technology has been used to develop iPS cells from Parkinson’s disease patients without viral reprogramming issues, courtesy of Rudolf Jaenisch, scientific founder of Fate Therapeutics, scientific advisory board member of Stemgent and founding member of the Whitehead Institute.
The Catalyst program will give member companies access to the iPS cell technology, with development expenses covered jointly by Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent.
Stemgent announced in March that it had received a $14 million Series A-1 round of funding, with investment coming from HealthCare Ventures and Morgenthaler Ventures.
Stemgent also operates an office in San Diego. It has obtained licenses related to stem cell reagents from top research institutions such as MIT, Harvard University and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., according to Ian Ratcliffe, CEO of Stemgent, who spoke with Mass High Tech last June.
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