NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Cellular Dynamics International today said that the National Institutes of Health Center for Regenerative Medicine has awarded it a contract for up to $7 million over three years to provide human induced pluripotent stem cell lines and terminally differentiated tissue cells from normal or specified patient populations.
The cell lines, CDI said, are expected to be used for preclinical research, including screening of compound libraries. CDI was previously awarded two contracts from NIH-CRM in September 2011 to generate and genetically engineer iPS cell lines and has delivered several of the lines, it said.
The Madison, Wis.-based firm manufactures iCell Cardiomyocytes, iCell Neurons, iCell Endothelial Cells, and iCell Hepatocytes. In June, it also launched its MyCell Services for the manufacture of iPS cells and tissue cells and genetic engineering.
"This contract enables NIH researchers to easily access our human iPS cell-derived cells and accelerate the pace of their research," Chris Parker, COO of CDI, said in a statement. "Scientists can now concentrate on their experiments and the data they generate instead of trying to manufacture a consistent and pure supply of human cells. Our expertise is providing the necessary tools — human cells — so that researchers can focus on discoveries."