Vita Therapeutics and I Peace Join Forces to Deliver Gene-Edited Stem Cells for Muscular Dystrophy

I Peace, Inc. has announced an agreement with Vita Therapeutics to jointly develop universal induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for use in new therapies.

The companies plan to generate GMP-grade iPS cells modified using proprietary, licensed gene editing technology from Vita. The approach is to create a base hypoimmune cell line by depleting Class I and II HLA (human leukocyte antigen) genes, which are key markers involved in immune rejection. The companies say they’re going to create these universal cells for patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).

• I Peace will provide its GMP iPS cell-related technology to generate master cell banks (MCBs) for both the parent line and the gene-edited subclones.
• Vita Therapeutics will supply the gene editing technology and expertise for developing iPSC-derived universal cells.

The resulting MCBs will be registered in the FDA Drug Master File (DMF), a regulatory filing that streamlines the review process for clinical-grade iPSC lines. 

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