CBR has entered into an important new research collaboration with Cellular Dynamics International (CDI). CBR will provide CDI with cryopreserved umbilical cord blood and mesenchymal stem cells isolated from previously cryopreserved cord tissue. CDI will use its proprietary technology to reprogram cells from the cord blood and cord tissue into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), a type of stem cell that has the potential to differentiate into any cell type found in the body. Many researchers believe newborn stem cells represent an excellent source of cells for reprogramming into iPSCs.

CBR is excited to enter into this research collaboration with CDI because it has the potential to increase the future utility of cells we store in our bank.
– Geoffrey Crouse, CBR President and CEO

Researchers can use iPSC to study diseases and how they develop and perform drug screenings. They have also just recently begun to be used in the first early stage cell-therapy based clinical trials in macular degeneration.

Our goal is for the families who have entrusted CBR to store newborn stem cells to know that they can have CDI establish a line of individualized iPSCs that matches their own genetic material and have the potential to become a very valuable resource to treat disease.
– Bob Palay, CDI Chairman and CEO