COLOGNE, Germany -- KYOTO, Japan
iPS Academia Japan, Inc., the technology transfer entity for induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) inventions primarily from Kyoto University, and Axiogenesis AG, a leading developer and producer of pure iPSC-derived cell types and disease models, have reached an agreement to expand their existing partnership.
Under the terms of the agreement, for which financial details were not disclosed, iPS Academia Japan has worldwide non-exclusive rights to sub-license the Axiogenesis patent portfolio related to drug development, tissue models and disease models.
In 2012, Axiogenesis earned a US patent (following patents issued in both Japan and Europe) for invention of an in vitro assay utilizing stem cell-derived, terminally-differentiated cell types to screen pharmaceutical drug candidates for effects on diseases such as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, or cardiac hypertrophy).
Axiogenesis and iPS Academia Japan first partnered in 2010 when Axiogenesis in-licensed the portfolio of iPS cell technology pioneered by Professor Shinya Yamanaka at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Kyoto University. Dr. Yamanaka earned the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work.
This announcement comes as the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) annual meeting begins in Boston. Axiogenesis is represented at the conference.
About iPS Academia Japan, Inc.
iPS Academia Japan, Inc. (AJ) , a subsidiary of Kyoto University, was established in Kyoto in June 2008 with its main mission to facilitate the spread of iPSC-related technologies worldwide, and thereby to contribute to human health and welfare. AJ's patent portfolio presently consists of more than 70 patent families (about 260 applications in total), and about 70 license arrangements have been executed with domestic and international enterprises. Visit www.ips-cell.net.
About Axiogenesis AG
Since 2000, Axiogenesis has been in business to tap the promise of stem cells to revolutionize the fields of drug discovery and life sciences research. Axiogenesis develops and commercializes stem cell-derived, in vitro-differentiated cardiomyocytes and other cells types, as well as drug development assays and disease models, that reproduce the human condition to help researchers and clinicians treat disease. Visit www.axiogenesis.com.
Contact – iPS Academia Japan
Shuzo Kudo
+81 75-256-8582
License@ips-ac.co.jp
Contact – Axiogenesis
Europe/Asia:
Felix von Haniel
+49 (0) 221 998818-0
felix.haniel@axiogenesis.com
Americas:
Brian Murphy
brian.murphy@axiogenesis.com
