CIRM-Funded Stem Cell Bank to Be Located at Buck Institute

Stem cell lines will be made available to scientists worldwide

The Buck Institute will house a CIRM-funded stem cell bank that will be used to create human “disease in a dish” research models designed to enable scientists to develop treatments for a wide range of diseases.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) awarded Wisconsin-based Cellular Dynamics International (CDI) and New Jersey-based Coriell Institute for Medical Research a combined total of nearly $26 million dollars to establish and run the stem cell bank.  Both organizations will pay rent to the Buck Institute and will have staff working on the Institute’s Novato campus. The stem cell bank is expected to be operational in approximately six months.

CIRM awarded CDI $16 million to create 3 induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines for each of 3,000 healthy and diseased donors. Tissue samples will be taken from patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorders, liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurodevelopment disabilities, diseases of the eye, or respiratory diseases. CDI will generate the iPSC’s at the Buck Institute, using the episomal, or footprint-free reprogramming method first developed by CDI. The company’s chief scientific officer is Dr. James Thomson, one of the fathers of IPS cell research.

In addition, CIRM awarded Coriell Institute almost $10 million to set up and biobank the iPSC lines. Coriell will establish a biorepository at the Buck Institute, with proven methods for managing sample collection and tracking, safe storage, and capabilities for worldwide distribution of iPSC’s generated by CDI.

“We are very excited about partnering with both CDI and the Coriell Institute,” said Brian Kennedy, PhD, President and CEO of the Buck Institute, who noted that operations for both companies will be located in the Institute’s new Regenerative Medicine Research Center which was partially funded by CIRM. “This work has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of a myriad of diseases – we are proud that both of these companies chose to work with us and we are committed to providing the support structure to make the stem cell bank a success.”

CIRM awarded a total of $32 million to fund both the stem cell bank and those who will do the actual sample collection. “Access to high fidelity iPSC lines from a wide range of complex diseases will be an important accelerator of research,” says Alan Trounson, PhD, President of the stem cell agency. “This initiative will provide scientists with access to multiple cell lines that should have much of the genetic variations that represent the variety within any human disease such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, lung fibrosis and autism. Scientists and companies can use these cells to discover the nature and causes of the underlying human diseases in a way not feasible before. We are hopeful these cells will be an incredible resource for scientists in their quest for understanding the origins and causes of human pathologies.”