Stem Cell Sciences Wins DTI Support

11 February 05

Stem Cell Sciences (UK) Ltd has secured a £1.2 million grant from the DTI Technology Programme. The money will partly fund a consortium that brings together those at the forefront of stem cell expertise in industry and academia.

The consortium, led by the Edinburgh based company, links the Institute for Stem Cell Research at the University of Edinburgh, University College London Biochemical Engineering, GE Biosciences, Global Research Centre and the Insight Faraday Partnership (IFP).

The project will develop high-throughput cell screening to speed the discovery of drug based regenerative medicines. Embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to differentiate into any other cell type, will be used to produce high density arrays of specific cell types in formats suitable for screening.

The DTI Technology Programme is designed to speed the translation of collaborative research into successful businesses.

Bioprocessing has been identified as one of seven key business areas for this call, overall attracting 460 initial applications. This stem cell project was one of three funded in the bioprocessing sector.