Contact: Tony Russo, Ph.D., or Lena Evans
Russo Partners, LLC
(212) 845-4251
(212) 845-4262
tony.russo@russopartnersllc.com
lena.evans@russopartnersllc.com
Lisabeth Weiner
Lisabeth Weiner Consultants, Inc.
(312) 252-7360
(312) 485-6211 (cell)
lisweiner@lisweiner.com
MADISON, Wis. — Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. (CDI), a FUJIFILM company, today announced an agreement with Roche to supply CDI’s induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived iCell products to contribute to the identification of novel drug candidates at the early stages of drug discovery.
Key Points
– Under the terms of the supply and license agreement, Roche will have exclusive access to specific iCell products to be employed in High Throughput Screening (HTS) and lead optimization for drug discovery.
– The partnership is dependent on certain development milestones and may amount to $83 million in total.
Kaz Hirao, CDI Chairman and CEO, said, “Our partnerships with established leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, now including Roche, demonstrate that CDI products are increasingly becoming important tools for efficient drug discovery. This agreement is the largest single collaboration for CDI to date. We look forward to a productive working relationship with Roche that will show how iPSC-derived cells can help generate a large number of early product candidates.”
About Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), a FUJIFILM company
Cellular Dynamics International (CDI), a FUJIFILM company, is a leading developer and manufacturer of human cells used in drug discovery, toxicity testing, stem cell banking, and cell therapy development. The Company partners with innovators from around the world to combine biologically relevant human cells with the newest technologies to drive advancements in medicine and healthier living. CDI’s technology offers the potential to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from anyone, starting with a standard blood draw, and followed by the powerful capability to develop into virtually any cell type in the human body. Our proprietary manufacturing system produces billions of cells daily, resulting in inventoried iCell® products and donor-specific MyCell® Products in the quantity, quality, purity, and reproducibility required for drug and cell therapy development. Founded in 2004 by Dr. James Thomson, a pioneer in human pluripotent stem cell research, Cellular Dynamics is based in Madison, Wisconsin, with a second facility in Novato, California. For more information please visit www.cellulardynamics.com and follow us on Twitter @CellDynamics.
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including: healthcare, with medical systems, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics; graphic systems; highly functional materials, such as flat panel display materials; optical devices, such as broadcast and cinema lenses; digital imaging; and document products. These are based on a vast portfolio of chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic, software and production technologies. In the year ended March 31, 2015, the company had global revenues of $20.8 billion, at an exchange rate of 120 yen to the dollar. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit: www.fujifilmholdings.com.
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