After a very busy year, EBiSC is now entering its next stage as a sustainable scientific repository! Since its inception, EBiSC has garnered a wealth of expertise through the dedication of key partners. This has been maintained via the continued participation of myself at Fraunhofer UK and of the team at Fraunhofer-IBMT, both of whom have been with EBiSC since its inception in 2014. I am delighted to announce that Fraunhofer-UK now spearheads EBiSC, serving as the primary point of contact for users and collaborators, supported by the scientific banking, cryostorage and hPSCreg teams at Fraunhofer-IBMT (both operating as not-for-profit organisations). Moving forward, orders will be processed by Fraunhofer UK, in Scotland, while Fraunhofer-IBMT in Germany will manage the central and mirror storage of cells. EBiSC remains steadfast in its commitment as a not-for-profit repository, diligently collecting and sharing a diverse collection of iPS cell lines, enabling accessibility for researchers worldwide. With this in mind, from the start of 2024 onwards, customers will be able to order directly from the EBiSC catalogue.
EBiSC was initially founded through the collaborative undertaking of large European consortia, funded jointly by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) of the European Union (EU), and members of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Whilst the first funded project phase, “EBiSC” worked to establish a working infrastructure and framework for the bank, a second phase, “EBiSC2”, aimed to ensure the implemented biobanking framework was robust, sustainable and able to continue operating long term. See more information about the history of EBiSC here.
During EBiSC2, core biobanking operations were performed by Fraunhofer IBMT, Fraunhofer UK and the European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC, part of the UK Health Security Agency). Whilst ECACC steps away from EBiSC to focus on other developments, we are thankful for their support in implementing the plan for sustainability and I would like to say a big thank you to the whole ECACC team for their time and support during this process. Indeed, we are grateful to all EBiSC and EBiSC2 partners who committed time and energy into not only building the bank, but into making sure that EBiSC can continue collecting and sharing iPS cells and data and providing services to the research community.
EBiSC has many exciting developments in progress and I am looking forward to sharing these during 2024! Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a great end to the year.
For inquiries or collaboration opportunities with EBiSC, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Best,
Dr Rachel Steeg
Head of EBiSC
The EIT Health project R2U Tox Assay and EBiSC2 joint venture. R2U Tox Assay focusses on revolutionising drug development by making toxicity testing more human. For more information have a look here!
The possibility to generate an unlimited amount of mature and functionally active neurons from human- induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has the potential to radically accelerate neuroscience research. However, differentiation protocols can be lengthy, expensive, and often produce inconsistencies in terms of yield and functionality. The European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC) is happy to announce a new iPSC derived neuronal cell product - EBiSC-NEUR1 which can be used directly from thaw for downstream applications.
An updated version of the EBiSC protocol for the use of induced pluripotent stem cells is now available online. This document provides guidance on how to resuscitate, culture and cryopreserve human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) supplied by EBiSC.
Read the EBiSC brochure to find out about the aims of the EBiSC project, the range of diseases available, and how to order cell lines.
Read the September edition of the EBiSC Newsletter. Find out our latest news, learn about upcoming events and get to know the authors of the latest EBiSC2 scientific articles.
Read moreThe FAIRplus and EBiSC2 projects are joining forces to improve how ‘FAIR’ standards (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability) can be applied to human induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) line data . The joint effort will improve how iPSC line data can be made more findable, standardised and reusable for researchers.
The European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC) is a centralised, not-for-profit, iPSC bank providing researchers across academia and industry with access to scalable, cost-efficient, and consistent high-quality tools for the development of new medicines. The EBiSC bank collects iPSC lines from European Union (EU) and non-EU countries as well as the accompanied data from individual research groups and makes these available to scientists for research use. FAIRplus delivers guidelines and tools to facilitate the application of ‘FAIR’ principles to data from selected projects, including those funded under the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI).
Dr Andreas Kurtz, coordinator of the human Pluripotent Stem Cell registry (hPSCreg) and responsible for the EBiSC2 IT infrastructure explains: “By working with FAIRplus, we will make it easier for scientists to find the information they need and improve how we collect, store and standardise data for new cohorts of iPSC lines which are joining the EBiSC collection in the future. This will improve the efficiency and robustness of iPSC-based research and help to accelerate the path to understanding disease pathology and develop new therapeutic opportunities”.
Dr Serena Scollen, project coordinator of FAIRplus says: “The aim of the FAIRplus project is to develop methodologies and tools to increase the FAIRness of biomedical data and demonstrate the added value of the FAIR data management on selected IMI projects, such as EBiSC2. Our hope is that by helping EBiSC2 create fully FAIR datasets, we can support the research community towards more efficient and robust research.”
An EBiSC2 infographic is now published, summarizing at one glance the implications and benefits of deposition, the ethical and legal governance sourcing EBiSC lines and how iPSC lines can be deposited into and accessed from EBiSC.
The European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC) and CHDI Foundation have collaborated with Censo Biotechnologies to generate a cohort of 45 iPSC lines derived from Huntington’s disease (HD) gene-expansion carriers (HDGECs) and associated controls. These new lines will be used to further investigate the mechanisms of HD progression and for the development of novel therapeutics. They will be widely available to any interested researcher.
“These iPSC lines offer great promise as a model system for HD research and therapeutic development, a terrible disease that devastates families across multiple generations,” explains Dan Felsenfeld, Director of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine at CHDI. “A major focus of CHDI’s mission is to make resources such as these widely available to researchers to stimulate new research, as well as to support ongoing work of established investigators.”
The donor samples were collected by researchers at University College London and Ulm University Medical Center in collaboration with CHDI. Donors included male and female volunteers aged 30 to 59 years; samples from HDGECs carry CAG expansions ranging from 41 through 50 repeats. Specific CAG-repeat data associated with individual iPSC lines is available via the EBiSC catalogue. Researchers interested in obtaining these lines should visit ebisc.org and search ‘CHDI’.
The EBiSC catalogue is in constant expansion and will continue collecting iPSC lines associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS as well as cardiovascular and eye disease, diabetes, muscular dystrophy and neuropathic pain.
Join Sabine Müller (Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering) on Stem Cell Awareness Day, 9 October, 2019, at the Lübeck EU Biobank Week 2019 and discuss biobanking services and opportunities towards personalised medicine through the EBiSC Bank!
Meet Mattias Hanson and Rachel Steeg online and learn about their motivation, vision and work for making quality-controlled, disease-relevant iPSC lines available to researchers worldwide through the EBiSC Bank! Mattias is Research Director at Novo Nordisk and responsible for upscaling operations at EBiSC, while Rachel is Project Manager for the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering that coordinates the EBiSC2 project.
Watch the videos here.
For the fifth consecutive year, EBiSC2 representatives will participate in the Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research taking place from 26 to 29 June 2019 in Los Angeles / USA.
EBiSC2 – The European Bank for induced pluripotent Stem Cells launches a second project phase to become a self-sustainable repository for human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC), extend the existing cell catalogue, and offer additional hiPSC-related services.
Brussels, 11th March 2019 (12:00 CET)
EBiSC2 builds on the achievements of the European Bank for hiPSCs (EBiSC, www.ebisc.eu), giving academic and commercial researchers access to high quality hiPSCs from diverse disease and genetic backgrounds (ebisc.org). Supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI2 JU), a joint undertaking between the European Union and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), key partners of the initial EBiSC project are joining forces to build on EBiSC's existing assets and establish EBiSC2 as a self-sustainable central bank for hiPSC lines, focused on satisfying user requirements.
Launched on 1st March 2019 and focussed on the needs of the research community and scientific excellence, EBiSC2 will continue to distribute disease-relevant and high quality hiPSCs with freedom to operate for research, along with comprehensive datasets. Additional services such as bulk production of hiPSCs and delivery of pre-differentiated cell populations will be established to facilitate the use of hiPSC in research.
EBiSC2 aims to collaborate with other ongoing or future iPSC programmes in an effort to continue serving as a central hub for collection, banking, quality control and distribution of hiPSC lines, resulting in secured access for the research community to assets generated with public funds within these projects. Building on EBiSC's established clinical network, EBiSC2 will also progress clinical engagement to support collection and appropriate management of disease-relevant patient data to support disease modelling and drug discovery activities.
Prof. Dr. Heiko Zimmermann, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT (Germany), the EBiSC2 Project Coordinator, states: "Requirements from hiPSC users in academia and industry are ever evolving. To meet this demand, the EBiSC2 cell catalogue will be constantly enriched through on-demand generation of new hiPSC lines, including gene-edited lines and isogenic controls, hiPSC-derived progenitor cells and continued deposition of hiPSC cohorts generated in external research projects. We will distribute cell lines and develop a range of additional cell services, for instance through the supply of screening panels of disease-relevant and control hiPSC lines in ready-to-use-formats, to maximise the value of these resources, whilst reducing operational costs through state-of-the-art upscaling and automation."
Dr. Andreas Ebneth, Scientific Director of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV's Neuroscience Therapeutic Area (Belgium), the EBiSC2 Project Leader, comments: "Proof-of-concept studies will be performed jointly by academic and pharmaceutical partners to demonstrate the reliability and robustness of the EBiSC lines for disease modelling and screening. The extensive data generated within those studies will further enrich the EBiSC2 catalogue. Long-term sustainability of the EBiSC2 bank will guarantee continuous access to an important high-quality, disease-relevant hiPSC resource for academic and commercial researchers worldwide. EBiSC2 may thus support future advances in the field of hiPSC-based disease research with the ultimate goal to discover and develop new drugs for improving the health and lives of people internationally."
For the full press release: Click here
Research organisations, universities, public bodies:
SMEs:
Pharmaceutical companies (EFPIA members):
EBiSC2 is supported by the IMI2 JU with 4.6 million Euro and further by the EFPIA members with 4.3 million Euro. The project runs over three and a half years and will end on 31st August 2022.
Access to the public EBiSC Catalogue: https://ebisc.org
A new EBiSC related manuscript led by the EBiSC partner Bioneer and entitled "Generation of a set of isogenic, gene-edited iPSC lines homozygous for all main APOE variants and an APOE knock-out line" has been published in Stem Cell Research in January 2019.
The final Executive Summary of the EBiSC project has now been published providing an overview of the experience and achievements made in the fours years of project lifetime.