Stem Cell Sciences in deal with MRF for CNS drugs

UK-based Stem Cell Sciences has entered an agreement with the Myelin Repair Foundation of the USA for the development of techniques that will lead to scalable and sustainable sources of uniform human brain cells for research, target validation and drug discovery assays. Being able to utilize human brain cells would be a significant step forward to confirm results from animal research experiments in demonstrating the relevance of any new drug therapy for central nervous system disorders.

Under the terms of the deal, researchers at the MRF - supported the Human Neural Assay Center, located at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio), will optimize sustainable methods for culturing SCS' human neural stem cells and subsequent differentiation into the three principal cell types normally found in the brain: neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. Historically, access to primary human brain tissue suitable for cell culture has been extremely limited and tissue that was available has been difficult to sustain in culture, says SCS. Using human NS cells overcomes this problem by providing a constant, dependable and unlimited source of brain cells.

Through this collaboration the parties expect to develop new methods and materials that can be readily utilized by the entire neuroscience community. SCS has the right to first negotiation on commercializing any new products resulting from this collaboration. Using human brain cells in place of animal cells at an initial research stage eliminates the genetic variation between species and may significantly improve the relevance of results in early-stage drug discovery.