Cellectis stem cells

The Cellectis stem cells Business Unit combines two Cellectis Group companies dedicated to Stem cell technology. These are Ectycell, based at the Evry Genopole (France), and Cellartis, based in Gothenburg (Sweden), which was acquired by Cellectis in October 2011.

The goal of the "Cellectis stem cells" Business Unit is to speed up the development of Stem cell technology and in particular to find a robust and reproducible way of controlling Stem cell production and differentiation, notably through the sharing of knowledge and expertise developed by the two companies, with a view to becoming a major, long-term and stable industrial player in the global marketplace.

So how may Ectycell and Cellartis expertise be considered complementary?

Ectycell was founded in 2009 to apply the advantages of the technology developed by Cellectis – Genome engineering – to research in stem cells, and more specifically induced pluripotent stem cells (or iPS cells). The Meganucleases produced by Cellectis have a direct application in the development of iPS cells. For example they can be used to:

• Generate iPS cells from adult cells using targeted integration and excision of reprogramming factors;
• Achieve novel reproducible methods for cellular differentiation from iPS cells using targeted Genome engineering technologies;
• Develop robust methodologies and processes for large-scale production of iPS cells.

Cellartis, a Swedish company founded in 2001, was formed as a spin-off from the University of Gothenburg. From its inception the company has worked on pluripotent stem cells and technologies applied to the search for new drugs, toxicity testing and regenerative medicine. Cellartis has proven expertise in many different areas including:

• controlling Stem cell differentiation into liver and heart cells which offer unrivalled performance in toxicity testing applications;
• ownership and exploitation of the world's largest Stem cell bank (30 proprietary lines);
• effective industrial rollout of their technologies;
• alongside leading partners, involvement in regenerative medicine programs which use the immense potential of stem cells for the restoration of damaged tissues and organs.

The Cellectis stem cells Business Unit has ambitious objectives.

• To industrialize pluripotent stem cells;
• To develop industrial in vitro tools predictive of human physiology and genetic diversity, such as tools for the drug and cosmetic industries, as well as for research, and that can be immediately used in industrial molecular screening and selection processes;
• To develop major partnerships, particularly in the field of regenerative medicine;
• To take a strategic industrial role in order to set standards in an emerging market, forge a strong pioneering position in the areas of focus, and build a genuine industrial sector based around stem cells and a competitive industrial cluster.