Takara Bio Europe AB and Boston IVF Fertility Center announce partnership

Takara Bio Europe AB (TBEAB) has announced a partnership with the Boston IVF Fertility Centre (Boston IVF), headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. This partnership gives TBEAB access to discarded starting material for the derivation of clinical-grade hES cell lines for cell therapy research.

Kristina Runeberg, Site Head and Senior Director Corporate Development at TBEAB said: "When we set off to establish our first clinical-grade hES cell line, we needed to find a partner that would accept the stringent donor and sourcing criteria. We were fortunate to find Boston IVF, which has both the know-how and capabilities to fulfill the high regulatory demands required for this project. Through our initial collaboration, we were able to generate our first clinical-grade hES cell line, which has recently been made available to cell therapy researchers through a new out-licensing program".

This partnership also allows Boston IVF and the donor couples to make compassionate use of surplus material that would otherwise be discarded. Denny Sakkas, CSO at Boston IVF, stated: "While our main focus is on reproductive medicine and our world-renowned infertility treatment services, we also want to facilitate research that can help patients who are suffering from chronic or untreatable conditions. We are excited to continue to work with TBEAB and help them to support innovative cell therapy researchers across the world."

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