HOUSTON—Non-profit organization High Q Foundation announced it had entered into a two-year R&D collaboration with Stem Cell Innovations (SCI) for the development of Huntington's disease cell model for drug discovery. The deal revolves on the application of SCI's PluriCell platform, and will see SCI receive $1.1 million on completion of certain milestones. The company also has the right to further use, develop, and commercialize any products arising.
"This agreement will allow us to accelerate our efforts in generating a unique panel of human neurodegenerative disease models, which will be integral in the further development of our potential products," says SCI CEO Dr. James Kelly.
Derived from fetal gonadal cells, PluriCells do not come with the culturing challenges associated with standard embryonic stem cells, according to SCI. Within the past year, SCI has signed similar collaborations with agencies and companies looking at everything from ALS to bone morphogenesis to cardiomyopathy.
