NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Cellular Dynamics will supply its iCell products for drug discovery to Roche and collaborate on identifying novel drug candidates, the company said today.
Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will have exclusive access to certain iCell products, derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), for use in high-throughput screening and lead optimization for drug discovery.
Cellular Dynamics, a subsidiary of Fujifilm that is based in Madison, Wisconsin, could receive as much as $83 million if the partners meet certain development milestones.
"This agreement is the largest single collaboration for [Cellular Dynamics] to date," Cellular Dynamics CEO Kaz Hirao said in a statement. "Our partnerships with established leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, now including Roche, demonstrate that [Cellular Dynamics] products are increasingly becoming important tools for efficient drug discovery."
In January 2014, Cellular Dynamics signed a supply deal with the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences for its iCell and MyCell product lines. The firm also has partnerships with AstraZeneca and others.