Licensing and IP
Safely navigating the legalities of the iPSC space
With the increasing utility of iPSCs at multiple points in drug development, the generation and use of human iPSCs are frequently listed in patent applications. Licensing and how to navigate the IP when sourcing lines, using iPSC cells and methodologies is a common subject for discussion in our axoServicesTM customer discussions.
And rightly so. All labs need to look at these issues properly and plan accordingly. It is always good practice to look to the future and put the correct actions in place early. This means consideration of the methodologies used and application of in vitro iPSC based models to ensure correct licenses and freedoms to operate are in place.
It’s a complex area. The patents for iPSCs date back, unsurprisingly to 2006 and the rate has increased ever since. 2018 for instance saw 431 new applications with Kyoto University holding the most active patents.
Correct licensing and rights to operate is central to our work so next time you’re speaking to us, don’t be shy to ask.
Axol Bioscience’s Licensing
- ID Pharma non-exclusive license for sendai reprogramming of cells for services and products. Please note – you may need to contact ID Pharma (license@ips-ac.co.jp) should you wish to commercialize any product yourself.
- Academia Japan non-exclusive license for reprogramming iPS cells for services and products.
- Francis Crick Institute exclusive license to generate near-homogeneous populations of hiPSC derived left ventricular cardiomyocytes (LVCMs) with improved structural, functional and metabolic maturity.
- Evotec non-exclusive license for use of differentiated cells for disease modelling for services and products. Please note – you may need to contact Evotec (Martin.Augustin@evotec.com) if you plan to use differentiated cells for disease modelling.
- ERS genomic non-exclusive license for CRISPR gene editing services and products.
- Broad Institute non-exclusive license for CRISPR gene editing services and products.
- iPSC lines – all ethical & patient consent documentation and commercial rights in place.
Contact us to discuss further.
Read more
Read this NIH review from 2019