Invitrogen Licenses Stem Cell Line From Buck Institute
CARLSBAD, Calif. & NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN), a provider of essential life science technologies for research, production and diagnostics, has licensed an engineered stem cell line from the Buck Institute for Age Research. The stem cell line is used in the study of neural cells in neurodegenerative disease. The financial terms were not disclosed.
The stem cell line, called BG01 Olig2-GFP, is engineered to track the Olig2 gene, a neural lineage marker. The Olig2 gene controls a protein that maintains a neural stem cell's ability to replicate early in brain development, and then directs it to form a particular type of neural cell.
"This line of stem cells adds to Invitrogen's expanding portfolio of engineered stem cells," said Joydeep Goswami, Invitrogen Vice President of Primary and Stem Cell Systems. "We plan to not only provide the line to customers, but also to further develop products from the line that will serve as valuable tools in neural stem cell research."
"The Buck Institute is excited to have this relationship with Invitrogen. We are hopeful that with Invitrogen offering this invention to the scientific community, we will help advance the field of stem cell biology," stated Remy Gross, Director of Business Development for the Buck Institute.
The Buck Institute will be holding the first annual Stem Cell Symposium on the Bay in Novato, Calif., on August 8, 2008. Invitrogen's Principal Scientist of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Mohan Vemuri, Ph.D., will be presenting on the propagation of human embryonic stem cells in serum-free, feeder-free and xeno-free conditions. Invitrogen's Vice President of Research and Development for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Mahendra Rao, is organizing the conference. For more information on the symposium, visit www.invitrogen.com/stemcell/bay08.
Invitrogen is the premier supplier of tools and reagents for stem cell research. The company recently launched the STEMPRO® MSC SFM, the first serum-free media designed specifically to culture mesenchymal stem cells, as well as CELLstart™, the first fully defined, completely animal origin free substrate in the marketplace for the attachment and expansion of embryonic, mesenchymal and neural stem cells. Invitrogen offers researchers more than 1,200 products tailored to various parts of the stem cell research workflow for embryonic and adult stem cell populations.
About Buck Institute for Age Research
The Buck Institute is the only freestanding institute in the United States that is devoted solely to basic research on aging and age-associated disease. The Institute is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to extending the healthspan, the healthy years of each individual's life. The National Institute of Aging designated the Buck a "Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging," one of just five centers in the country. Buck Institute scientists work in an innovative, interdisciplinary setting to understand the mechanisms of aging and to discover new ways of detecting, preventing and treating conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke. Collaborative research at the Institute is supported by new developments in genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics technology.
About Invitrogen
Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN) provides products and services that support academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition. The company provides essential life science technologies for disease research, drug discovery, and commercial bioproduction. Invitrogen's own research and development efforts are focused on breakthrough innovation in all major areas of biological discovery including functional genomics, proteomics, stem cells, cell therapy and cell biology -- placing Invitrogen's products in nearly every major laboratory in the world. Founded in 1987, Invitrogen is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and conducts business in more than 70 countries around the world. The company employs approximately 4,700 scientists and other professionals and had revenues of approximately $1.3 billion in 2007.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release are considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and it is Invitrogen's intent that such statements be protected by the safe harbor created thereby. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to; 1) Invitrogen plans to provide the cell line to customers; 2) Invitrogen plans to further develop products from the cell line. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to; a) The products may or may not be valuable tools in neural stem cell research; and the risks that the market will not accept the companies' products and services, or that the companies will be unsuccessful in their efforts to develop new products and services, as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Invitrogen's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
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