Plasticell, Progenitor Labs Join SBC Campus

Plasticell Ltd. and Progenitor Labs have joined Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC), the UK’s first open innovation bioscience campus. Progenitor Labs is a drug discovery spin-off from Plasticell and recently received £4m in funding from SR One, the corporate venture arm of GlaxoSmithKline. SBC focuses on cell therapy and regenerative medicine innovation activities. Plasticell specializes in the differentiation of stem cells to obtain cell types for a range of biomedical applications using CombiCult, its bead-based combinatorial screening platform. Progenitor Labs uses CombiCult to produce synthetic adult progenitor cells for drug screening, discovery of small molecules that regenerate specific tissues, and potentially restoring organ function in disease and ageing. Dr. Yen Choo, founder and chef executive officer of Progenitor Labs, said, “Open innovation is at the core of Progenitor’s model, with our shareholders and partners contributing finance, technology and expertise to enable drug discovery in the context of regenerative medicine.” Dennis Saw, chief executive officer of Plasticell Ltd, said, “The attraction of co-locating Plasticell and Progenitor at SBC has been to group complementary stem cell technologies in a creative environment, obtaining access to expertise from GSK and SBC’s other stakeholders, allowing us to deploy capital more efficiently towards discovering regenerative medicines.” Dr. Martino Picardo, chief executive officer of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, said, “SBC recognizes the patient benefits inherent in cell therapy, and is working to develop a network to catalyze innovation in this area. We are delighted to welcome Plasticell and Progenitor as our first stem cell tenants, and look forward to working with them, our stakeholders and other players in the UK sector to develop exciting new projects.”