Toshiba and the CiRA Foundation Begin Joint Research on Methods for Manufacturing iPS Cells Using Liposome technology

• Toshiba Corporation and the CiRA Foundation have begun joint research to develop methods for establishing iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) using liposomes technology.
• Biodegradable Liposomes developed by Toshiba will be used for gene transfer to achieve production of safer and clinically applicable iPS cells.

Toshiba and the CiRA Foundation have signed a joint research agreement.

Research title: Gene transfer using liposomes 
Date of concluding the contract: September 1, 2022
Research site: The Headquarters Laboratory of the CiRA Foundation and Kyoto Research Park

Biodegradable liposomes and Toshiba

Liposomes are lipid nanocapsules. They are increasingly being used as medical materials that encapsulate and safely deliver therapeutic genes and agents to cells inside the body. To achieve more effective delivery of genes of interest to target cells, Toshiba has developed a technology to optimize liposomes for specific purposes by utilizing molecular design and the AI technology it has cultivated. Toshiba and the CiRA Foundation aim to develop methods for establishing clinically applicable iPS cells using Toshiba’s unique biodegradable liposomes, thereby contributing to the advancement of regenerative medicine. 

Details of the research

The following are the objectives of this joint research.
1. To verify whether iPS cells can be established by delivering liposome-encapsulated genes necessary for cell reprogramming into human somatic cells.  
2. To improve the efficiency of establishing iPS cells by optimizing the type of liposomes, the genes to be encapsulated and their amounts, and transfer methods.
3. Investigate whether genetically modified iPS cells or differentiated cells from the genetically modified iPS cells can be prepared from iPS cells or somatic cells before reprograming, by performing gene transfer or gene editing using liposomes.

Toshiba Corporation leads a global group of companies that combines knowledge and capabilities from over 145 years of experience in a wide range of businesses—from energy and social infrastructure to electronic devices—with world-class capabilities in information processing, digital and AI technologies. These distinctive strengths support Toshiba’s continued evolution toward becoming an Infrastructure Services Company that promotes data utilization and digitization, and one of the world’s leading cyber-physical-systems technology companies. Guided by the Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, “Committed to People, Committed to the Future,” Toshiba contributes to society’s positive development with services and solutions that lead to a better world. The Group and its 120,000 employees worldwide secured annual sales of 3.3 trillion yen (US$27.4 billion) in fiscal year 2021.
Find out more about Toshiba at www.global.toshiba/ww/outline/corporate.html

The CiRA Foundation is a public interest corporation that started as an offshoot of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, in April 2020, with the philosophy of offering top iPS cell technologies at affordable prices. The CiRA Foundation is in charge of the iPS Cell Stock Project, which was inherited from CiRA and is also engaged in contract manufacturing, quality control, and storage of products using iPS cells and the publication of standard operating procedures for manufacturing, thereby contributing to the practical application of regenerative medicine.