Drug Discovery
We are developing human cells that will accelerate drug discovery.
Overview
We are developing unique cell types that can be used for accelerating the drug discovery process, for organ or tissue printing, for high throughput and high content screening, for toxicity and efficacy testing, and for human disease modeling.
Our high-quality specialized human cells are derived from human (non-embryo) induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
We are currently developing novel protocols for making midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons, forebrain parvalbumin-expressing interneurons, and oligodendrocytes of the human central nervous system (CNS), as well as NPY-expressing neurons of the hypothalamus and NTS GLP1-expressing cells of the hindbrain.
These specialized human cells can be used for drug discovery in developing treatments for Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), leukodystrophies, cerebral palsy, Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease, neuropsychiatric disorders, schizophrenia, autism, intellectual disabilities, thrombocytopenia, and obesity.
In addition, we are developing endothelial cells as well as functionally mature human pancreatic islet cells (beta cells). These cells are critical for organ and tissue printing and disease modeling as well as for accelerating the drug discovery process at pharma and biotech companies working on diabetes (Type 1 or 2) related therapeutics.