The exclusive right grants Cellular Engineering Technologies the intellectual property to develop, manufacture and commercialize next generation bio-production of recombinant proteins, viral vectors for gene therapy and vaccines with a more native human and ethical cell line to replace the HEK293 cell line - a human cell line that was produced from an abortion from the 1970s. The HEK293 cell line currently generates over 100 billion dollars in products for drug companies which will double in 5 years. For the past 50 years, JP2MRI is the only Catholic organization that conducted research to address this problem. Your ongoing support helps to ensure that this unethical practice in the pharmaceutical industry comes to an end.

March 6, 2023

Coralville, Iowa: Cellular Engineering Technologies (CET), Inc., an Iowa biotechnology company specializing in cell manufacturing and contract research services, today announced that it has received exclusivity to use immortalized human stem cells from the John Paul II Medical Research Institute (JP2MRI), a non-profit organization.  The immortalized stem cells were created by gene editing human stem cells to produce next generation human cells with more native PTM than existing cell lines which are deployed in current bio-production applications.  The cell lines will be better able to produce native drug targets and high-end human growth factors necessary to improve the efficacy of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) therapies.  The intellectual property is currently protected by a filed PCT patent application by JP2MRI.  The exclusive rights granted to CET further expands CET's portfolio of intellectual property.  This includes a recently issued USPTO patent in iPSC reprogramming that CET believes will serve as a new benchmark by enabling it to offer cells which carry a lower neoplastic risk and no viral risk when compared to current iPSC methodologies.

iPSC represent a promising cell replacement therapy for unmet diseases ranging from neurodegenerative diseases (such as Parkinson's, Spinal Cord Injury, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), alveolar failure, connective tissue and orthopedic disorders, macular degeneration, juvenile diabetes and cancer.  However, there are critical hurdles which exist before iPSC replacement therapies can be fully realized, which include: (1) overcoming the hostile inflammatory environment for cell engraftment; (2) lack of quality control, reproducibility and genetic instability; (3) reducing the neoplastic risk; and (4) solving the lack of and eliminating the potential high cost of fully human, high-end, growth factors that recapitulate the native physiological environment of human development.  With this new exclusive right from JP2MRI, CET is best positioned to solve the aforementioned scientific and financial challenges of iPSC-dependent cell replacement therapy.  Moreover, CET is poised to create better native human tissues for drug discovery and more effective native drug targets.

Access to the press release is also available on BioInformant: 
https://bioinformant.com/cellular-engineering-technologies-jp2mri

Contact JP2MRI:
Jay Kamath 
CEO
Phone: 319-688-7367
Email: jay.kamath@jp2mri.org

About CET:
Cellular Engineering Technologies, Inc. (CET) is a biotechnology company that specializes in cell manufacturing and contract research services directed towards improving personalized and regenerative medicine. CET has expertise in cellular and tissue engineering, with a key focus on cell manufacturing and tissue culture media optimization, alongside research services that offer non-controversial bio-production. CET has the largest repository of human somatic stem cells and is the sole source manufacturer of some rare postnatal stem cells. CET distributes its products and services in Canada, United States, Asia, and Europe. For additional information please visit: www.celleng-tech.com.

About JP2MRI:
The John Paul II Medical Research Institute (JP2MRI) is a non-profit medical research organization whose mission is to conduct adult stem cell research for its therapeutic priorities, which include: 1) Neurodegenerative Diseases; 2) Rare Diseases; 3) Cancer; and 4) Chronic Diseases that are unmet and underperformed by the biopharmaceutical industry. The Institute conducts medical research consistent within the Catholic healthcare guidelines.