Celaid Therapeutics Inc. (Celaid) have executed a collaborative research agreement with AGC Inc. to advance iPS cell-derived hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (iPSC-HSPCs).

The collaboration aims to combine Celaid's proprietary platform of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) expansion technology with AGC's iPSC technology to accelerate robust and scalable expansion of iPSC-HSPCs, the company said in a statement

In this project, Celaid's human HSC expansion technology will be applied to AGC's iPSC-HSPCs. The functionality of the expanded cells will be evaluated through in vitro experiments and in vivo animal transplantation. Through this collaboration, the two companies aim to demonstrate a method for large-scale expansion of high-quality iPSC-HSPCs – addressing key manufacturing challenges in the development of iPSC-derived blood and immune cell therapies.

Commenting on the development, Nobuyuki Arakawa, President and CEO of Celaid said, “We are excited to partner with AGC to leverage and combine cutting-edge stem cell technologies to drive future breakthroughs. This collaboration represents a significant step toward resolving the key challenges in the clinical manufacturing of iPSC-derived hematopoietic and immune cell therapy products.”