Takara Bio announces launch of beta cell differentiation service

Mountain View, CA—May 17, 2018—The Takara Bio Group, the leading provider of human stem cell differentiation services globally, has launched the Cellartis Directed Differentiation to Beta Cells Service for the delivery of high-quality, custom human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived beta cells for diabetes research and metabolic disease modeling.

The gold standard in this field involves the use of primary islets of Langerhans, which are difficult and costly to obtain. Islets containing insulin-secreting beta cells come from donors with different genetic backgrounds, confounding results by adding variability to cellular models and assays. The new differentiation service complements an existing suite of stem cell services and provides a reliable and plentiful source of mature beta cells from customer-specified hiPSCs, enabling beta cell functional studies, diabetes modeling, and compound screening for insulin secretion and regulation.

Catharina Brandsten, Director R&D at Takara Bio Europe AB, said, "Compared with human primary pancreatic islet beta cells, iPS-derived beta cells provide better access to cells and reduced batch-to-batch variability, providing reproducible and biologically relevant data. Our standardized method mimics embryonic development to manufacture large quantities of cryopreserved beta cells that secrete insulin and C-peptide, making the cells an excellent research tool for disease modeling and drug discovery."