WARF enters licensing agreements for stem cell products

Madison, Wis. - The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has entered into global licenses agreements with two prominent technology companies, allowing them to develop and commercialize growth media and tissue culture services used in embryonic stem cell research. Terms of the license agreements were not disclosed.

The agreements mark the beginnings of strategic collaborations between the two companies, Becton Dickinson & Co., a medical technology company based in Franklin Lakes, N.J., and Stem Cell Technologies, Inc., a life-science firm headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

They plan to develop products for stem cell research, including a defined medium and compatible tissue culture surface to support improved cell culture conditions for embryonic stem cells.

The technology is based on research conducted by Drs. Jamie Thomson and Tenneille Ludwig of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the WiCell Research Institute, a non-profit subsidiary of WARF.

In early 2006, they announced that human embryonic stem cells could be derived and grown on cell cultures not contaminated by animal proteins. The finding showed that stem cell lines can be grown successfully without animal contamination and that the cells are completely animal-free - the second point being a boon to the possibility of stem cell transplants. Related stories

• Tom Still: Changes to U.S. patent law must nurture our culture of innovation

• WARF questions relevancy of documents used to uphold patent challenge

• WARF expands license agreement with Advanced Cell Technology

• Supreme Court ruling seen as blow to WARF stem cell patents

• Tom Still: Here's why Wisconsin's stem cell patents are being challenged