Stem cell therapeutics firm Medistem and Superview Biotechnology signed a collaboration centered on the use of Medistem’s stem cell lines to screen for monoclonal antibodies with potential in regenerative medicine. Superview is a subsidiary of China’s Yinhuan Holding, which is exploiting a technology for generating monoclonal antibodies against highly defined targets.
The aim of the collaboration is to identify monoclonal antibodies that modulate the activity of stem cells that are already present in the body, in effect, taking an alternative tack to approaches based on developing stem cells-derived therapeutics. “To date, the majority of stem cell companies are focusing on the stem cell itself being a product,” explains Thomas Ichim, Medistem CEO. In contrast, he claims, using monoclonal antibodies to target endogenous stem cells “not only provides methods of activating stem cells but also allows for the development of stem cell adjuvant therapies that could be used to resurrect stem cell candidates that failed in clinical trials.”
View the original article here: Stem Cell-Modifying Antibodies for Regenerative Therapies – Genetic Engineering News