Contact: Joleen Rau
Senior Director, Marketing & Communications
Cellular Dynamics International, Inc.
(608) 310-5142
jrau@cellulardynamics.com
MADISON, Wis., Oct. 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cellular Dynamics
International (CDI) (Nasdaq:ICEL), announced today that the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office (PTO) issued Patent No. 8,557,580 entitled
“Methods and Compositions for the Differentiation of Stem Cells” on
October 15. The newly issued patent relates to the method by which
induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are differentiated into the
diverse types of endothelial (blood vessel) and hematopoietic (blood)
cells.
This method is used by CDI for the creation of its iCell(R) and
MyCell(R) Products and enables the production of high quality cells at
industrial volumes. Endothelial cells are important for the study of
vascular disease research and therapy, including atherosclerosis (the
build-up of plaques within blood vessels that can lead to tissue damage
and even death), the body’s inflammatory responses to general injury,
and the generation of new blood vessels and tissues during healing.
Hematopoietic cells include a diverse set of cell types, including
erythroid cells (red blood cells), lymphocytes (white blood cells), and
myelocytes (bone marrow cells). Readily available, high quality sources
of these cells may lead to improvements in many clinical settings
including cell-based therapies, cancer treatments, organ
transplantation, and treatment for autoimmune diseases.
Bob Palay, chairman and chief executive officer of CDI, said, “CDI is
committed to innovation and working to create the tissue cells critical
to research impacting human health. This patent covers a reliable,
scalable method for creating a consistent supply of blood and blood
vessel cells in high quality, quantity and purity from iPS cells and
continues CDI’s intellectual property strategy of assembling a broad
portfolio of patents and licenses for all of our products.”
This is the fifth patent issued to CDI this year, adding to an
intellectual property portfolio of over 700 patents.
About Cellular Dynamics International, Inc.
Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. (CDI) is a leading developer of
induced pluripotent stem cell technologies for in vitro drug
development, stem cell banking and in vivo cellular therapeutic
research. CDI harnesses its unique manufacturing technology to produce
differentiated tissue cells in industrial quality, quantity and purity
from any individual’s induced pluripotent stem cell line created from a
standard blood draw. CDI was founded in 2004 by Dr. James Thomson, a
pioneer in human pluripotent stem cell research at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. CDI’s facilities are located in Madison, Wisconsin,
with a second facility in Novato, California. See
www.cellulardynamics.com.
Follow us on Twitter @CellDynamics or www.twitter.com/celldynamics
Forward-looking Statements
To the extent that statements contained in this press release are not
descriptions of historical facts regarding Cellular Dynamics
International, Inc., including the impact of the issuance of U.S.
Patent No. 8,557,580, they are forward-looking statements reflecting
the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,”
“anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” and similar expressions (as well as
other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or
circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements in this release involve substantial risks
and uncertainties that could cause our product development efforts,
actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Cellular
Dynamics undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements. For a further description of the risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those
expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks
relating to the business of the Company in general, see Cellular
Dynamic’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on August 29, 2013.
