Brightbridge Wealth Management Headlines: Life Technologies Launches Highly Efficient Stem Cell Reprogramming Technology

CytoTune(TM)-iPS Reprogramming Kit can accelerate research using cells programmed to serve as models for human disease. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) August 20, 2011 - CARLSBAD, Calif. - Life Technologies Corporation today announced the launch of CytoTune(TM)-iPS Reprogramming Kit - research technology that provides far improved efficiency over standard methods to develop induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from human somatic cells. The ability to more easily create larger numbers of these embryonic stem cell-like cells can expedite basic research and studies that target specific diseases.

Widely accepted methods for turning adult skin cells, for example, into iPSCs involve benign virus vectors that are used to deliver reprogramming genes. The process, however, is woefully inefficient (reprogramming efficiency rates for standard methods range between 0.00001-0.01 percent) and runs the risk of leading to unwanted mutations since the vectors must insert themselves into the host cell's DNA - essentially altering the genome and leaving "footprints."

The CytoTune(TM)-iPS Reprogramming Kit is based on zero-footprint technology that employs an RNA virus developed by the Japanese firm DNAVEC Corporation. The benign vectors effectively do their job without DNA integration and can generate iPSCs with about 1 percent efficiency.

"This technology is the most successful method my lab has used to generate iPSCs," said Keiichi Fukuda, Ph.D., M.D. Professor and Chief, Department of Cardiology, and Vice Dean at the Keio University School of Medicine, whose research team demonstrated the effectiveness of CytoTune's RNA vector in a study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. "Considering the high efficiency of iPSC generation and absence of integration of the vectors into the host genome, this method is definitely the most powerful tool available for transgene-free iPSC induction and will have an enormous impact on the future direction of many fields utilizing iPSCs."

Efficient development of footprint-free iPSCs provides highly sought-after advantages for the basic research field. Scientists who test existing or novel drugs in the hopes of treating specific diseases will now have quicker access to patient-derived cells that are physiologically accurate because they won't contain mutations that could be introduced during reprogramming. The use of iPSCs as disease models was the subject of a study on Schizophrenia published April 14, 2011 in the journal Nature and of other recent studies.

The expediency of the kit's technology will also enable scientists to accelerate the number of experiments they can perform each week using iPSCs, a growing research field that circumvents the ethical concerns associated with embryonic stem cells because iPSCs are derived from adult tissues such as skin fibroblasts.

CytoTune(TM)-iPS Reprogramming Kit is part of Life Technologies' broader set of products, including KnockOut(TM) Serum Replacement and Gibco® B-27® Supplement, among others, used in laboratories worldwide to grow, characterize and study iPSCs.

"The launch of this product fulfills a growing demand from our customers who have voiced their need for technology that provides the combined benefits of higher reprogramming efficiency with a zero footprint iPSCs," says Christopher Armstrong, Head of Primary & Stem Cells at Life Technologies. "CytoTune(TM)-iPS Reprogramming Kit complements our extensive portfolio of stem cell research tools."

Life Technologies will be hosting several talks and poster sessions on its stem cell technology during the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 9th Annual Meeting, June 15-18 in Toronto, Canada. More information can be obtained at the Life Technologies booth (#626) during the show.

About Life Technologies ( www.lifetechnologies.com )

Life Technologies Corporation is a global biotechnology company dedicated to improving the human condition. Our systems, consumables and services enable researchers to accelerate scientific and medical advancements that make life even better. Life Technologies customers do their work across the biological spectrum, working to advance the fields of discovery and translational research, molecular medicine, stem cell-based therapies, food safety and animal health, and 21st century forensics. The company manufactures both molecular diagnostic and research use only products. Life Technologies' industry-leading brands are found in nearly every life sciences lab in the world and include innovative instrument systems under the Applied Biosystems and Ion Torrent names, as well as, the broadest range of reagents with its Invitrogen, GIBCO, Ambion, Molecular Probes and TaqMan® products. Life Technologies had sales of $3.6 billion in 2010, has a workforce of approximately 11,000 people, has a presence in approximately 160 countries, and possesses one of the largest intellectual property estates in the life sciences industry, with approximately 3,900 patents and exclusive licenses. For more information on how we are making a difference, please visit our website: http://www.lifetechnologies.com .

Life Technologies' Safe Harbor Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements about our anticipated results that involve risks and uncertainties. Some of the information contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements as to industry trends and Life Technologies' plans, objectives, expectations and strategy for its business, contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. When used, the words "believe," "plan," "intend," "anticipate," "target," "estimate," "expect" and the like, and/or future tense or conditional constructions ("will," "may," "could," "should," etc.), or similar expressions, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. Important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in filings made by Life Technologies with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Life Technologies undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/life-technologies-launches-highly-efficient-stem-cell-reprogramming-technology-2011-06-15?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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