During the period 2007 through 2011 Sanquin Research received support from LSBR for the infrastructure of its research program on stem cells and cellular therapies. With this support we have been able to fulfil matching obligations and to upkeep basic infrastructure for
(externally) funded projects that usually do not have sufficient overhead to cover all day to day running costs of projects. It also gave Sanquin Research the opportunity to start pilot
studies and to invest in innovative equipment in order to obtain external funding.
Cellular therapies form an increasing part of transfusion medicine and provide a broad spectrum of new therapeutic possibilities. The Stem Cells and Cellular Therapies research program of Sanquin was focused on a specific number of subjects. The knowledge and expertise, as well as the GMP procedures and the infrastructure, that
were made possible through these projects, also facilitates us to provide support for
cellular therapies that are not immediate research targets. In addition, the research lines within this research program that address the fundamental aspects of (stem) cell biology are expected to contribute to the development of new cellular therapies in the (nearby) future.
The cellular therapies that are aimed for in the research program were: 1) regenerative therapy and 2) immune therapy.