The Cellectis subsidiary Ectycell and French financial institution Caisse des Depots will each plow €6 million (about $8.5 million) into a program for the industrial development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The investment by Caisse des Depot will give the firm a 25% stake in Ectycell, with the remainder continuing to be held by Cellectis.
Ectycell says the aim is to make the first products commercially available within months. The project will be supported by Oseo, the French government-backed agency dedicated to providing assistance and financial support to national SMEs and VSEs.
The Cellectis subsidiary was established in 2009 specifically to develop an industrial platform for generating iPSCs. The firm sublicenses relevant iPSC cell technology from Cellectis, including iPS technology originally licensed by the latter from Academia in Japan. “The capital increase will speed up the development of innovative industrial tools derived from iPS cells, notes David Sourdive, Ectycell CEO. “The programs that have been launched should lead ot the establishment of a world-leading industrial iPS cell bank in terms of volume and diversity by 2015.”