Plasticell Signs Stem Cell Research Collaborations

Plasticell, a developer of stem cell technologies and cell-based therapies, has signed agreements with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to progress its therapeutic stem cell pipeline.

"We are delighted to have put together this collaboration which has such enormous potential for the creation of next-generation stem cell products," said Yen Choo, founder and executive chairman, Plasticell.

Separate agreements with the two Singapore research centers encompass technology licensing, collaborative research and scientific exchange visits.

Plasticell will initially collaborate with the laboratories of Prof. Peter Dröge (School of Biological Sciences, NTU) and Dr. Farid Ghadessy (p53Lab, A*STAR) to apply proprietary genome editing technology to insert functional multi-transgene cassettes into specific loci of human stem cell lines. The engineered lines will be used by Plasticell in multiple projects focused on precisely directed stem cell differentiation, phenotypic screening for drug discovery and in next-generation immuno-oncology applications.