18 Dec WARF, Vistagen sign license agreement for human embryonic stem cell tech
Madison, Wis. – VistaGen Therapeutics, a biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation have signed a license for human embryonic stem cell patents for the development and commercialization of stem cell-based research tools.
VistaGen is focused on using stem cell technology to change the way drugs are discovered and tested. The license will allow VistaGen to accelerate commercial programs to develop stem cell-based predictive toxicology and drug discovery screening assays for the pharmaceutical industry.
The company plans to use predictive information from its stem cell-based clinical trials to identify effective drug candidates and reduce clinical trial failures, especially failures due to heart or liver toxicity.
Ralph Snodgrass, VistaGen’s CEO, said this agreement is another critical step in the company’s strategy to become a one-stop shop for stem cell differentiation systems.
The licensed patents are based on the research of stem cell pioneer James Thompson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center and director of regenerative biology at the new Morgridge Institute for Research.
WARF, established in 1925, is the private, non-profit patenting and licensing organization of UW-Madison. To date, the foundation has completed 35 licensing agreements for stem cell technologies.