STEM CELL: ‘WORLD’S FIRST TRUE RAT EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS’
September 3rd 2008 12:53
Tuesday September 2, 2008
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STEM CELL SCIENCES
Stem Cell Sciences says laboratories in Britain and the US using its technology have achieved germ-line transmission from embryonic stem cells in rats.
Stem Cell Sciences non-executive director Dr Peter Mountford said that over the past 25 years researchers had been unable to produce germ-line transmission via embryonic stem cells into any species other than mice.
“None have previously been able to create cells that make sperm or eggs,” Dr Mountford said.
“Germ-line transmission refers to the ability of the cells to make eggs and sperm and thereby the ability of those cells to transfer the introduced genetic modification into whole animals,” Dr Mountford said.
“This is the number one priority of the US National Institutes of Health in the field of rat genomics,” Dr Mountford said.
In a media release to the ASX Stem Cell Sciences said the achievement in two independent laboratories, using technologies licenced to the company by Edinburgh University, was “believed to be the first time that germ-line transmission from rat [embryonic stem] cells has been demonstrated”.
The company said full scientific reports on the independently verified breakthrough had been submitted to a major scientific journal for publication.
Stem Cell said that under the Edinburgh University agreement it had “global exclusive rights to commercialize the rat [embryonic stem] cells, the specific culture medium used to generate and grow the cells, and rats derived therefrom”.
Stem Cell said it had licenced two important patents covering the technology from the University and would meet interested parties seeking a sublicence for the rat stem cells.
“The main advantage of this important new technology is that it allows the generation of both knockout rat models, in which the effect of gene deletion is studied, as well as the generation of knock-in models, which involves the insertion of genes,” Stem Cell said.
For example, in the case of knock-out models, the rat’s response to drugs could provide information on safety and efficacy.
Alternatively, the insertion of genes such as those involved in drug metabolism in the human liver means that knock-in models could provide information on human safety and pharmacokinetics.
Stem Cell’s chief executive officer, Dr Alastair Riddell, said the breakthrough would enable “the generation of transgenic rat models for drug discovery in a very similar manner to the already widely used transgenic mice models”.
“The advantage here is that rats are viewed as more predictable human models than mice for several psychiatric, neurological and cardiovascular drug targets,” Dr Riddell said.
“The ability to knock-in human genes should also enable drug metabolism studies to be undertaken with higher predictability in rats than previously available,” Dr Riddell said.
“This opens the way to new and more effective drug discovery and expect there to be considerable commercial interest in access to this exciting technology,” he said.
Stem Cell said the culture medium patent family, which was filed in multiple territories including the US, contained several specific enzyme inhibitors which when used in certain combinations, could be used to grow embryonic or pluripotent rat stem cells reliably in a serum-free environment.
The rat embryonic stem cell patent family, which was also filed in multiple territories including the US, gave Stem Cell the exclusive right to make and commercialize unique rat models for biopharmaceutical research and development, a market of more than $US80 million.
Stem Cell Sciences was unchanged at 20 cents.
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