https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190415005302/en/

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 15, 2019--San Diego-based Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Inc., officially announced a joint research and development agreement with South Korea’s SCM Lifescience Co., Ltd., for the development of diabetes therapies using pancreatic beta cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

iPSCs can be derived from adult human tissue cells yet share the developmental potentials of embryonic stem cells. Currently Japan has 6 ongoing clinical trials utilizing this technology, but the rest of the world is now joining the movement with 4 clinical trials initiated outside of Japan in the past year.