Banking on stem cells

While stem cell developers wrestle with fine-tuning cell types, improving protocols and calling for better regulatory guidelines, few in the field are addressing one of the looming problems likely to hit once more products reach the market - stem cell rejection. Taking a leaf from the organ transplant field's notebook, two companies are creating genetically matched donor cell banks to reduce the risk of rejection, but it's not clear whether the strategy will eliminate the need for immunosuppressants.

The companies, Cellular Dynamics International Inc. and International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO), are starting from the same premise: that the key lies in ensuring histocompatibility by matching HLA haplotypes. ...