Development of New Technologies for the Standardisation of the Manufacture of Stem Cells

Sistemic Ltd and Roslin Cells Ltd today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote the development of new technologies for the standardisation of the manufacture of stem cells for their use in cell therapy and drug development screening. Both parties believe that only through the development of stem cell standardisation can the full potential of this major opportunity be unlocked.

Sistemic is delighted to announce this agreement with Roslin and believe that the ground-breaking research has the potential to greatly advance the use of stem cells for cell therapies and research. Jim Reid, Sistemic’s CEO commented “Standardisation is a key step in the broader exploitation of any technology. We have been using our SistemQC™ microRNA based service with clients working in these fields to help them gain a greater molecular understanding of their stem cell systems and have built a comprehensive understanding of the issues this sector currently faces. We have been looking both at early characterisation during the R&D phase, right through to generating microRNA fingerprints which can be used in the release of products from manufacture. We have been finding that there is a general consensus within the stem cell community that the currently available tools and technologies are not truly fit for purpose. Broader utility will be driven by better standardisation. As more and more of these developments enter clinical testing and subsequent market launch the role for new tools and technologies to really understand these systems is essential. We believe that our SistemQC™, microRNA approach will play a key part in delivering these enhanced tools and in collaboration with Roslin set the standard for stem cell characterisation and quality.”

Roslin Cells, world leaders in the isolation of new clinical grade, undifferentiated stem cells for use in both research and therapy are ideally placed to assess the developing utility of technologies coming from the collaboration. Their current stem cells benefit from being highly characterised and thoroughly tested in Roslin’s cGMP compliant facility and they are recognised as one of the world’s leading centres in this field. Roslin, aim to be at the forefront of stem cell characterisation and as such the collaboration with Sistemic is a natural fit to develop the highest standards for stem cell production, from development, through scale up and the release of high quality cells following manufacture. Aidan Courtney, CEO of Roslin commented that “The characterisation of both primary tissue and of cells in culture is fundamental to our operation. It underpins our ability to produce the highest possible quality of cells for use in cell therapies and as research tools. Data from cell characterisation tests are an essential element of what we provide to our customers and collaborators. This collaboration with Sistemic will enable us to improve our production processes and deliver more extensive and valuable data to those using our cells.”