Geron has been awarded US Patent 7,425,448, “Cardiomyocyte precursors from human embryonic stem cells.”
The investor listed on the patent is Chunhui Xu.
According to its abstract, the patent provides populations of human cells of the cardiomyocyte lineage. The cells are obtained by inducing pluripotent stem cells to differentiate in vitro, and then harvesting cells with certain phenotypic features. Differentiated cells bear cell surface and morphologic markers characteristic of cardiomyocytes, and some of them undergo spontaneous periodic contraction. Highly enriched populations of cardiomyocytes and their replicating precursors can be obtained that are suitable for a variety of applications, such as drug screening and therapy for cardiac disease.