SBIR Phase I: Automated platform for maintenance, culture scale up and screening of human Embryonic Stem Cells

干细胞产品公司(SCP)的这一第一阶段小型企业创新研究(SBIR)项目开发了一种自动化细胞培养系统，用于维护和扩大人类胚胎干细胞(HES)的生产。2010年，干细胞、细胞因子和生长因子疗法的全球市场预计将达到207亿美元。增加HES细胞的可获得性和可获得性是基础干细胞研究的基础，因为它们代表着人类发育的关键模型系统，并可能提供几乎无限的细胞资源，否则无法大量获得。目前的细胞培养技术是劳动密集型的，需要高技能的人员。改进的培养基和自动化培养条件将使用于研究的HES细胞的常规处理成为可能，确保重复性，并使改进的分析、筛选和治疗更快地商业化。培养和维持HES细胞的技术是由SCP创始人詹姆斯·汤姆森博士于1998年发现的。自那以后，随着我们团队成员的贡献，细胞培养条件不断得到改善，最近的一次是在不含动物产品的定义介质的出版中体现出来。SCP在媒体优化和自动化方面的专业知识将促进将当前的培养协议转移到负担得起的、常用的自动化平台。该平台的进一步开发将促进HES细胞向血统分化的自动化(以支持SCP从HES细胞培养红血球和血小板的使命)。它还将有助于提供药物开发、高通量筛选、生化特征和潜在医疗所需的各种其他血细胞类型。

This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project by Stem Cell Products Inc. (SCP) develops an automated cell culturing system for maintenance and scale-up production of human embryonic stem cells (hES). The worldwide market for stem cells, cytokines and growth factor therapies is expected to reach $20.7B in 2010. Increased availability and accessibility of hES cells is fundamental to basic stem cell research as they represent a key model system for human development and may provide a nearly unlimited resource of cells that are otherwise inaccessible in large numbers. Current cell culturing techniques are labor intensive, requiring highly-skilled personnel. Improved media and automated culturing conditions will enable routine handling of hES cells for research, ensuring reproducibility and enabling faster commercialization of improvements to assays, screening, and treatment. The technology for culturing and maintaining hES cells was discovered in 1998 by Dr. James Thomson, an SCP founder. Cell culture conditions have since been improved continuously with contributions by members of our team, most recently demonstrated in the publication of a defined media free of animal products. SCP's expertise in media optimization and automation will facilitate transfer of current culturing protocols into affordable, commonly used automation platforms. Further development of this platform will facilitate automation of differentiating hES cells towards the blood lineage (in support of SCP's mission to develop red blood cells and platelets from hES cells). It will also help to provide various other blood cell types in quantities required for drug development, high throughput screening, biochemical characterization and potential medical treatment.