Over the past year, StemCultures has had the opportunity to grow and engage with customers and strategic partners across the world. StemCultures brought the public behind the scenes at a variety of shows, from local conferences to the International Society for Stem Cell Research annual meeting. Reflecting on the year past, StemCultures would like to highlight some events, strategic partners, and announcements in the Year in Review.
2023 Events
The crowning event of the year has been attending the International Society for Stem Cell Research annual meeting in Boston this past June. Members of the laboratory and business teams showcased the new DISC Device product lines and interacted with potential consumers. The Neural Stem Cell Institute also attended the conference, where their leadership gave a number of talks. StemCultures is looking forward to the ISSCR annual meeting this coming year in Hamburg, Germany in July.
The StemCultures team was also able to attend a number of smaller conferences throughout the year, displaying the research and products that make countless cell cultures easier to work with. StemCultures made it to the Kingston Syracuse Pathway Conference, the New York State Innovation Summit, the Hudson Berkshire Chapter for the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, and the Redefining Early Stage Investment Conference this year. Victoria Bull, Laboratory Manager, and Krissy Roberts, Business Manager, attended most of these conferences. They networked with new clients and spread the word about the efficiency and efficacy of StemBeads and DISC devices.
Some other events that from this past year focused more on recruitment, education, and continuous improvement. StemCultures participated in the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative Work in Progress series this past spring and the more recent Capital Region BioInnovation Forum, where Business Manager Krissy Roberts spoke in a panel. Finally, StemCultures attended the second annual Life Sciences Business Symposium held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on November 7th.
Announcements
StemCultures has also made a number of announcements this past year that have been heard across the biotech industry. Recent publications, company news, and updates on the Small Business Technology Transfer grant received from the NIH all have been highlights of this year and are compiled below.
Publications
Collaborators have clearly been busy in the past year, publishing work in areas ranging from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s to mental illnesses and neuronal death. Two recent papers to highlight were on human cortical organoids, from a team led by Dr. Taylor Bertucci at the Neural Stem Cell Institute, and on cell death, from a team led by Eunsung Junn at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Institute for Neurological Therapeutics. These researchers, along with their many peers who did not publish this year, have been able to significantly advance our understanding of numerous issues through stem cell cultures using StemBeads and DISC Devices across the country and the world. Read more on the StemCultures website.
Company News
This year, StemCultures has grown significantly, reaching new partners across the world. To help make our products accessible to some of our customers, StemCultures recently began creating bundle deals. There are currently bundles for some of our more common StemBeads combinations, namely BDNF/GDNF and FGF2/EGF. These bundles are on our website here.
Beyond these new sales, StemCultures also has been working on preparing BDNF and GDNF DISC Devices for public sale. Having been through numerous rounds of testing internally and with our external beta testers, release of these DISCs will be soon. Stay tuned for more updates on these new products.
Finally, StemCultures began a new program this past year. Our Meet the Team spotlights have given us the opportunity to highlight members of our team, from our newest laboratory technician to our founders. Head over to our social media profiles to learn more and read about our team.
STTR Updates
The Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) is a program through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a part of the NIH. This program focuses on technology transfer between non-profit research organizations and for-profit companies with the potential to make a large impact. StemCultures has worked with the Neural Stem Cell Institute and their core facility, NeuraCell on an STTR grant since 2021 to commercialize StemBeads and DISC Devices. The grant is separated into two parts, with the initial phase being granted in 2021 for $200,000.
At the beginning of 2023, StemCultures began phase two of the grant. In this phase, StemCultures is focusing on the development and release of new, sustained-release cell-type specific growth factor products. Continuing to commercialize the high quality StemBeads and DISC Devices with expanded accessibility and use will benefit the greater industry and revolutionize common cell culture practices. Over the last six months, lab technicians have been hard at work testing and validating new growth factor technologies. Researchers from StemCultures, Neuracell, and the Neural Stem Cell Institute are on track to have numerous, fully tested and commercialized products at the conclusion of the grant. Growth factors currently being explored for further development include NGF, VEGF, CSF, TGF-B, and IL-34, with potential products beginning to be beta tested.
Year Ahead
Turning to the coming year, StemCultures looks to continue their current success with further development of new products through the STTR grant. Our researchers and collaborators are hard at work. We intend to innovate and develop new offerings for controlled-release growth factors. One major project underway is the development of DISC analogs for all remaining StemBeads. Beta testing of these products is currently underway, and any researchers and labs interested in being a part of the development are invited to reach out with any questions.
StemCultures is also looking forward to future conferences and events. The team is already excited to attend ISSCR24 in Hamburg, Germany along with many other conferences, symposiums, and panels. Meeting with partners and customers is not only helpful for the continuous improvement of our products but also rewarding to hear the research being done using StemBeads and DISC Devices. If you are working on research with StemCultures products, please reach out via our website or email to enable us to support you and your work, and leave us a review.
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Note: Opinions and accounts expressed herein are those of the author(s) or interviewee(s). They may not reflect those of StemCultures, its officers, or directors.