Cellectis bioresearch has been awarded its second stem cell services contract by NIH within 10 days. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract could be worth up to $6.9 million over three years. Under terms of the deal Cellectis will generate research-grade induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and differentiate iPSCs to specific tissue cell types for research use.

The first of the firm’s iPSC contracts with NIH, announced on October 16, is worth up to $9.51 million, and covers the production of clinical-grade iPSC lines, and their differentiation toward specific tissue cell types of clinical grade.

Cellectis bioresearch is a subsidiary of Cellectis that provides genome engineering tools and services, and develops and markets genetically customized cells for applications in drug discovery, gene function studies, and protein production. The firm’s expertise is based on its engineered sequence-specific nucleases (Meganucleases and Talens™), and their ability to target and modify specified DNA sequences.

Cellectis also offers iPSC services through its iPS Engineering Hub™. The two-step service programs somatic cells into iPSCs and then employs Talen-mediated engineering to generate the required engineered cells. The iPS Engineering Hub service can be accessed through Cellectis’ stem cells business unit, which combines the expertise of its Ectycell subsidiary in France, and Sweden-based stem cells firm Cellartis, which Cellectis acquired in November 2011. Etycell was founded in 2009 to apply Cellectis’ genome engineering technologies to stem cells, in particular iPSCs. 

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