ORIG3N™ and Kangstem Biotech Announce Collaboration to Study Neural Stem Cells

BOSTON and SEOUL, South Korea, June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ORIG3N, Inc., a pioneer in regenerative medicine, and Kangstem Biotech, a developer of innovative stem-cell therapies, today announced that they have begun a scientific collaboration to study the utility of induced neural stem cells (iNSC) in disease modeling. As part of the collaboration, Kangstem Biotech will provide iNSCs to ORIG3N for use in its disease-modeling platform.

Kangstem Biotech has developed a novel approach to generating patient-specific iNSCs directly from skin fibroblasts. The iNSCs can be further differentiated into different neural-cell types for use in therapies and drug screening for neurological disorders. ORIG3N will leverage in-house capabilities to study iNSCs with the goal of advancing the use of Kangstem's iNSCs in disease modeling applications.

"We are working to develop stem-cell therapies to treat incurable diseases so that people can not only live longer but happier, too," said Dr. Kyung-Sun Kang, CEO of Kangstem Biotech. "It is valuable to our work and mission that we collaborate with organizations such as ORIG3N to expand the utility of our stem-cell innovations."

ORIG3N is transforming the future of medicine by using Nobel Prize–winning technology to reprogram blood samples into induced pluripotent stem cells, which are then used to grow different cell types including neurons, heart cells and liver cells. These cells offer a powerful tool for accurate disease modeling and drug-discovery research.

"Our team of scientists are on the cutting edge of modeling diseases using induced pluripotent stems cells," said Robin Y. Smith, CEO of ORIG3N. "We're excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Kangstem, as they have created a new approach to developing neural stem cells that could lead to improved therapy development in neurological disease. By collaborating with Kangstem we will advance the work both our organizations are doing in getting closer to the promise of personalized regenerative medicine." 

About ORIG3N, Inc.
ORIG3N is leading a transformation in the understanding and treatment of rare, genetically inherited diseases. We've established the world's largest uniformly consented cell repository to better understand the cellular and molecular foundations of disease. The cells are ever-renewing and give rise to a living database of humanity we call LifeCapsule. Thousands of people have already contributed to advancing the future of healthcare—and to safeguarding their own future health. The founders are serial entrepreneurs whose previous venture, ArtusLabs, was acquired by PerkinElmer in 2011.

For more information, visit www.orig3n.com.

About Kangstem 
Kangstem Biotech Co., Ltd. engages in the research and development of bio-pharmaceutical products. It primarily develops stem cell therapies for various incurable diseases. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. December 21, 2015, Kangstem Biotech Co., Ltd. was listed on KOSDAQ (Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations).

Contact: 
Joy Lee-Calio
for ORIG3N
[email protected]   
908-239-1080

SOURCE ORIG3N Inc.

Related Links

http://www.orig3n.com