Spotlight on iPSC expansion and differentiation

The creation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) revolutionized the regenerative medicine field in 2006 when Shinya Yamanaka created his famous pluripotency cocktail of four factors. For the first time the world had the prospect of a near infinite source of autologous stem cells for regenerative therapies.

However, the boundless dreams have been constricted by reality. Difficulties in producing the correct conditions to differentiated cells; the need for feeder stromal cells, which produce undefined media, or purified cytokines, which must be titered to a specific concentration, as well as the questionable functionality of differentiated cells have all plagued the field.

In this spotlight, produced in association with Eppendorf, Lonza Pharma & Biotech and Mogrify, we will discuss how the industry is utilizing iPSCs, how some of the issues have been overcome in the past and how they are still being overcome today. We will review how the field is trying to produce iPSCs for clinical therapy, and what the major hurdles blocking the clinical transition are and where the future of the field lies.