Synthetic biology company Syntax Bio and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) specialist Applied StemCell Corp. (ASC) have announced a new strategic collaboration between the pair.
The partnership will focus on evaluating ASC's iPSC and hypoimmune cell lines using Syntax Bio’s proprietary Cellgorithm platform to advance stem cell research and the discovery and development of therapeutic applications.
Applied StemCell will provide Syntax Bio with iPSC lines, including its GMP-compatible hypoimmune iPSC platform, which combines immune-evasion genome engineering with TARGATT site-specific gene integration technology
These engineered cells are designed to support the development of next-generation allogeneic cell therapies by addressing challenges associated with immune recognition, genetic stability and manufacturing scalability.
ASC will also provide technical expertise to support Syntax Bio's research focused on improving the efficiency, reproducibility and scalability of stem cell development.
Syntax Bio will evaluate ASC's cell lines using Cellgorithm to generate data that will be shared between the companies.
The pair said in the announcement that the partnership would look to "advance the development of clinically-relevant cell-based therapies to serve more patients."
"We are excited to collaborate with Syntax Bio to explore how programmable cell engineering can help unlock the next generation of regenerative medicine,” said Dr Dolores Baksh, CEO of Applied StemCell.
"ASC has spent years developing advanced iPSC and genome engineering capabilities designed to support therapeutic innovation."
By combining our cell engineering expertise with Syntax Bio’s Cellgorithm platform, we see an opportunity to help accelerate the development of more reproducible, scalable approaches for cell therapy research and manufacturing.
Cellgorithm said that its technology simplifies stem cell differentiation by programming the sequence of gene activations needed to create specific cell types, reducing the need for repeated manual interventions.
It added that the platform has demonstrated the ability to generate target cell types in days or weeks rather than months.
"Cell therapy development still faces major challenges related to process variability and scalability required to efficiently generate functional cell types," said Dr John Craighead, CEO of Syntax Bio.
Our Cellgorithm platform was designed to address those discovery, development and manufacturing bottlenecks by programming cells through DNA-based instructions that mimic natural development.
"Collaborating with Applied StemCell gives us access to advanced iPSC technologies that can help accelerate broader adoption of programmable approaches in regenerative medicine."
