Technologies Corporation has extended its collaborative agreement with Japanese firm DNAVEC Corporation to launch CytoTune-iPS 2.0 Sendai Reprogramming Kit, the next-generation research technology that enables an efficient method to develop induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from human somatic cells. The newest kit doubles the number of colonies that can be produced and represents the latest in a series of products that are planned from the collaboration. The kit uses a benign RNA virus developed by DNAVEC to deliver the reprogramming factors and clears out of the cell after about five replication cycles. The technology helps overcome major hurdles associated with traditional reprogramming techniques, which are highly inefficient and can lead to unwanted genetic mutations since vectors must insert themselves in the host cell's DNA to deliver their payload. The kit is for Research Use Only and is not intended for diagnostic purposes.

Life Technologies Corp., www.lifetechnologies.com