Franklin Lakes, NJ and Vancouver, British Columbia (June 14, 2007) — BD Biosciences, a segment of global medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and StemCell Technologies, Inc., a Vancouver-based life sciences company, announced today that they have each entered into a worldwide license agreement with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). The agreements will allow BD Biosciences and StemCell Technologies to develop and commercialize novel growth media and validated tissue culture surfaces that together offer a complete cell culture environment for human embryonic stem cells (hESC). Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
The agreements also mark the beginning of a strategic collaboration between BD Biosciences and StemCell Technologies, which aims to provide products that are superior in quality, performance and reliability to facilitate and support the field of stem cell research. The development of these products arises from primary research performed by Dr. James Thomson and Dr. Tenneille Ludwig at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and the WiCell™ Research Institute, a non-profit subsidiary of WARF.
“We are very pleased to be working with both WiCell and BD to further expand the adoption and availability of complete cell environments pre-qualified for our customers’ critical research,” said Dr. Allen Eaves, President and CEO of StemCell Technologies, Inc. “Through the WARF license and our very productive, collaborative relationships with BD and WiCell, we are confident we have created a solid roadmap to innovation and standardization in the stem cell research field.”
“We are energized by this new collaboration with StemCell Technologies and WiCell,” added Joseph Gentile, General Manager and Vice President of BD Biosciences – Discovery Labware. “Through this relationship, we aim to provide our customers with the tools to conduct research that one day may address some of today’s most debilitating diseases, such as diabetes.”
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The first commercial products expected from these new license agreements and collaboration are a defined medium and compatible tissue culture surface to support the feeder-independent maintenance of hESC—a major advance in current state-of-the-art cell culture conditions. These products are expected to be introduced to the market on June 18, 2007 at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Annual Meeting in Cairns, Australia.
About BD
BD, a leading global medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents, is dedicated to improving people’s health throughout the world. BD is focused on improving drug therapy, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases, and advancing research and discovery of new drugs and vaccines. The Company’s capabilities are instrumental in combating many of the world’s most pressing diseases. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 27,000 people in approximately 50 countries throughout the world. The Company serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry and the general public. For more information, please visit www.bd.com.
About StemCell Technologies
StemCell Technologies, Inc. is a life sciences company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. StemCell Technologies provides highly specialized cell culture media and cell separation products that support and enable medical research in areas such as cancer, hematology, immunology, cell transplantation, gene therapy, and stem cell biology. More information about StemCell Technologies can be found at www.stemcell.com.
About WARF
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation supports world-class research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by protecting the intellectual property of University faculty, staff and students, and by licensing inventions resulting from their work. Established in 1925, WARF was the first university technology transfer office in the United States.
About WiCell™ Research Institute
WiCell is a non-profit subsidiary of WARF that was created to support human embryonic stem cell research on the UW-Madison campus. WiCell’s mission is to provide cells to academic scientists all over the world and to engage in research using the scientific expertise of UW-Madison researchers.
