The venture capital groups from both GSK and Biogen Idec have provided cash to iPierian - $28 M in cash to be exact. At present, the funding is strictly as an investment. Neither venture group is involved in a broader development deal.
iPierian is workng to establish induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) as a drug discovery and testing model. One Big Pharma can use to test a variety of drugs against differing cell types in vitro. Pluripotent stem cells derive from adult sources and iPierian uses no embryonic stem cells in its work. This type of experimental system should be more resistant to the changes in political winds that embryonic stem cell works suffers from. See Xconomy.
iPierian is still seeking a Big Pharma partner(s) to help it further develop the IPSC system for routine use in drug discovery.
Posted by Bruce Lehr September 8th 2010.
Comments