NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and Intrexon have struck a collaboration focused on developing new induced pluripotent stem cell technologies for research purposes, the institute said today.
Under the plan, Sanford-Burnham researchers will use Intrexon's RheoSwitch Therapeutic System (RTS) and its Laser-Enabled Analysis and Processing (LEAP) instrument for cellular selection and gene regulation purposes. Intrexon may obtain commercial and intellectual property rights to technologies that result from the partnership, Sanford-Burnham said.
The LEAP instrument provides high-throughput cell imaging and laser-based cell processing, and is used in in situ purification of cells and cell colonies. Sanford-Burnham, which said it is developing the world's largest collection of human iPSCs from individual patients and healthy volunteers, will use the LEAP tool in a range of disease studies to isolate human iPSCs while eliminating undesirable cell types. They will use the RTS to regulate when certain genes are turned on or off in cells.