About
The laboratory
ImStem Research Laboratory is the research arm of ImStem Biotechnology, Inc., an organisation founded in 2012 and based in Farmington, Connecticut.
Purpose
What we do and why
We work on a single, tractable scientific problem with wide consequences: how to obtain mesenchymal stem cells of defined and reproducible quality, in quantity, without depending on tissue donors — and then to characterise honestly what those cells do.
Mesenchymal stem cells have been studied therapeutically for decades with mixed and often irreproducible results. A substantial part of that irreproducibility is a sourcing problem. Our approach — directed differentiation from human embryonic stem cells through a trophoblast-like intermediate — was designed to remove donor variability as a confounder, and it has let us ask sharper mechanistic questions than the field could ask before.
The laboratory maintains R&D capability in the United States and works with a scientific advisory board of academic investigators in stem cell biology, neuroimmunology, transplantation and genome editing. Our published record spans developmental cell biology, immunological mechanism, manufacturing science and preclinical pharmacology.
Principles
- Evidence before claim. Every mechanistic statement on this site traces to a peer-reviewed publication, a patent document or a public trial registry entry.
- Negative and limiting results matter. Rapid innate clearance of infused MSCs is a real constraint on the field; we publish on it rather than around it.
- Reproducibility is upstream of everything. Serum-free, defined, scalable protocols are a scientific commitment, not only a manufacturing one.
History
Research and regulatory milestones
Patent grant dates are as recorded in the published patent documents; publication details are as recorded by the journals.
- 2012
ImStem Biotechnology is founded in Farmington, Connecticut, to translate research in stem cell medicine into clinical practice across autoimmune, degenerative and rare orphan disease.
- 2014
Stem Cell Reports publishes the laboratory's central finding: human ESC-derived MSCs outperform bone marrow MSCs in the EAE model of multiple sclerosis (3(1):115–130).
- 2015
The trophoblast-like derivation route and the immune-modulatory phenotype of the resulting cells are reported in Stem Cells (34(2):380–391, published online 2015).
- 2017
The first platform composition patents are granted: US 9,725,698 B2 (8 August), CN 104487568 B (15 August) and US 9,745,551 B2 (29 August). IND-enabling toxicology for IMS001 is completed with Charles River Laboratories.
- 2018
Platform patents are granted in Australia (AU 2013290146 B2, 18 January), Japan (JP 6277187 B2, 7 February) and Europe (EP 2872619 B1, 14 February). Scalable 3D and complete serum-free derivation are published, and intrathecal delivery of MSC spheres is shown to promote recovery in a primate multiple sclerosis model.
- 2019
US 10,226,488 B2 is granted (12 March). hES-derived MSCs are shown to correct TNF-α-mediated alterations in a blood–brain barrier model; spheroid transplantation ameliorates spontaneous osteoarthritis in rhesus macaques; wound healing is shown to proceed through the CXCL12–CXCR4 axis.
- 2020
In March, IMS001 receives FDA Investigational New Drug clearance for the study of multiple sclerosis. US 10,557,122 B2 (11 February) and US 10,842,826 B2 (24 November) are granted. Colon epithelial regeneration via circulating IGF-1 is published in Theranostics.
- 2021
The Phase 1 study of IMS001 in multiple sclerosis begins; the first patient is screened in Q3. The study is registered as NCT04956744, with a listed start date of 31 August 2021.
- 2022
The composition of matter patent is granted in Canada (CA 2876512 C, 13 December). Engineering of MSCs resistant to multiple natural killer subtypes is published, addressing rapid innate clearance of infused cells. Preclinical safety and tracing of MSC spheroids after intravenous injection into cynomolgus monkeys appears in Biomaterials.
- 2023
Blastocyst injection reveals the developmental potency of hES cell-derived MSCs in mouse embryos (Cell Reports). Exosome work in a Parkinson's disease model addresses Nox4/ROS/Nrf2 signalling.
- 2024
Chimerization of hESC-derived extraembryonic cells with the mouse blastocyst is reported.
- 2025
Spheroid delivery using a platelet-rich fibrin shield is published in Advanced Science, and a review of pluripotent stem cell-derived MSCs appears in Current Opinion in Genetics & Development.
- 2026
A comparative study of T-MSCs against bone marrow MSCs in acute xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease is published in Transplantation, with further work on small extracellular vesicles in dopaminergic injury and on spheroid-loaded hydrogels for diabetic wound healing. A patent covering intravenous application of spheroidal cell preparations is granted in China (CN 115590883 B, 17 July).
Collaborate
Proposing joint research
We are interested in collaborations that sharpen the science: complementary disease models, mechanistic tools we do not have, clinical research capability, or adjacent technology platforms. If you would like to propose one, write to admin@imstem.com and include:
- The kind of collaboration you have in mind.
- A brief introduction to your group, institution or company.
- Your contact details.
Contact
Reach the laboratory
Telephone
Address
400 Farmington Avenue, R1808
Farmington, CT 06032
United States