Singapore: Kyoto University has been granted four patents relating to its basic iPS cell technology, one in Japan and three in the US. Two of the US patents have already completed patent registration and the remaining two patents are due for registration within a month.

The patent granted in Japan relates to basic technology for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), which were successfully generated as a world first by the research group of Professor Shinya Yamanaka, director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), who has been awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2012 along with British researcher Sir John B Gurdon.

One of the three patents granted in the US is a patent relating to technology developed by Prof Yamanaka's group. The other two are patents assigned to Kyoto University by the US bioventure iPierian with effect from January 27, 2011.

Kyoto University has already obtained three Japanese patents relating to basic iPS cell technology. The granting of the new patent brings the total number of Japanese patents to four. In the US, where CiRA has to date acquired three patents relating to basic iPS cell technology, the newly obtained patents bring the total number of the US patents to six.

CiRA believes that the acquisition of the four new patents will contribute, in both Japan and the US, to creating an environment in which a large number of enterprises can feel confident about undertaking iPS cell research, screening of drug candidate substances, and other elements of applied research.

With the ambition of realizing medical application of iPS cells at the earliest possible date, Kyoto University is committed to continuing to promote widespread interest in iPS cell technology and related research.