• SKIP TO CONTENT
  • SKIP NAVIGATION
  • Patient Resources
    • COVID-19 Patient Resource Center
    • Clinical Trials
    • Search Clinical Trials
    • Patient Notification System
    • What is Clinical Research?
    • Volunteering for a Clinical Trial
    • Understanding Informed Consent
    • Useful Resources
    • FDA Approved Drugs
  • Professional Resources
    • Research Center Profiles
    • Clinical Trial Listings
    • Market Research
    • FDA Approved Drugs
    • Training Guides
    • Books
    • eLearning
    • Events
    • Newsletters
    • White Papers
    • SOPs
    • eCFR and Guidances
  • White Papers
  • Trial Listings
  • Advertise
  • COVID-19
  • iConnect
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Plasticell receives funding to produce red blood cell substitute

Plasticell receives funding to produce red blood cell substitute

April 14, 2017
CenterWatch Staff

Plasticell, a developer of cell therapies including hematopoietic cell replacement therapies, has secured Biomedical Catalyst funding of over £920,000 from Innovate UK to create a safe, effective red blood cell substitute for human clinical transfusion, in collaboration with stem cell scientists at the University of Edinburgh.

Over 90 million blood transfusions are carried out worldwide each year and alternative sources to donor-derived blood are being sought to meet rising demand. In addition there is a need to secure a safer supply of blood products, chiefly in developing countries where there is a relatively higher risk of transfusion-transmitted infection, but also globally where supply chains solely reliant on human donors remain vulnerable to newly emerging diseases.

“Scientists have shown that pluripotent stem cells can be used to make red blood cells in the laboratory, however as is often the case with stem cell—derived products, the process is costly, inefficient and gives rise to many immature cells, preventing the therapy from progressing to clinical trials,” commented Dr. Yen Choo, executive chairman of Plasticell. “We will use CombiCult—Plasticell’s combinatorial stem cell screening technology—to greatly improve the manufacturing process, focusing particularly on the early stages of stem cell differentiation into hematopoietic progenitors that give rise to fully functional red blood cells.”

The project is part of Plasticell’s hematopoietic cell therapy portfolio, which includes the expansion of umbilical cord- and bone- derived hematopoietic stem cells, and the manufacture of blood platelets and immune cells for oncology applications.

Over the past decade Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) has chosen Plasticell to deliver stem cell R&D projects valued at around £10 million, half of which were focused on the hematopoietic system.

Upcoming Events

  • 16Feb

    Fundamentals of FDA Inspection Management: Reduce Anxiety, Increase Inspection Success

  • 21May

    WCG MAGI Clinical Research Conference – 2023 East

Featured Products

  • Spreadsheet Validation: Tools and Techniques to Make Data in Excel Compliant

    Spreadsheet Validation: Tools and Techniques to Make Data in Excel Compliant

  • Surviving an FDA GCP Inspection

    Surviving an FDA GCP Inspection: Resources for Investigators, Sponsors, CROs and IRBs

Featured Stories

  • SurveywBlueBackground-360x240.png

    Sites Name Tech Acceptance as Essential Factor in Selection of Sponsors, Survey Finds

  • TrendsInsights2023-360x240.png

    WCG Clinical Research Trends and Insights for 2023, Part Two

  • TimeMoneyEffort-360x240.png

    Time is Money and So Is Effort, Budgeting Experts Say

  • TrendsInsights2023A-360x240.png

    WCG Clinical Research Trends and Insights for 2023, Part Three

Standard Operating Procedures for Risk-Based Monitoring of Clinical Trials

The information you need to adapt your monitoring plan to changing times.

Learn More Here
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Data

Footer Logo

300 N. Washington St., Suite 200, Falls Church, VA 22046, USA

Phone 617.948.5100 – Toll free 866.219.3440

Copyright © 2023. All Rights Reserved. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing