FUJIFILM Wako Chemicals U.S.A. Commercializes CEPT Cocktail for Research-Use iPSC Applications

RICHMOND, Virginia, April 20, 2023 – FUJIFILM Wako Chemicals U.S.A., Corporation today announces the launch of a ready-to-use small molecule cocktail comprising of Chroman 1, Emricasan, Polyamines, Trans-ISRIB (CEPT Cocktail), a chemical platform for stress-free cell culture and superior survival of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). CEPT Cocktail is intended for commercial research-use of iPSC applications including disease modeling, organoid generation, drug discovery, toxicology, and pharmacological studies.

CEPT was identified in a targeted high-throughput screen of nearly 16,000 small molecule compounds conducted by the Stem Cell Translation Laboratory (SCTL) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), led by former director Ilyas Singeç, M.D., Ph.D., (now chief scientific officer at FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, Inc.) The cocktail preserves iPSC structure and function by protecting against several stress mechanisms including DNA damage, which could lead to improved stem cell applications in basic and translational research. Compared to other commercially available reagents, FUJIFILM Wako Chemicals U.S.A., Corporation’s CEPT Cocktail consists of a mixture of all the components, providing comprehensive cell protection and viability.

Under a license granted from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and NIH, Fujifilm commercializes CEPT cocktail as a research-use-only, ready-to-use DMSO solution.

“As part of a robust offering of iPSC technologies and cell culture media solutions, FUJIFILM Wako Chemicals U.S.A., Corporation is proud to commercialize the CEPT Cocktail with the hope of further advancing the role of iPSCs and their limitless potential in translational medicine,” said Toshihiro Hiramatsu, president, FUJIFILM Wako Chemicals, U.S.A., Corporation.

iPSCs can be expanded in culture indefinitely and differentiated into almost any cell type of the human body. The use of iPSCs in all downstream applications requires the establishment of rigorous protocols that will allow large-scale, cost-effective cultivation of cells without compromising on their quality. However, researchers have been facing significant challenges when working with iPSCs, including poor outcomes with clonal selection, cryopreservation, adaptation to feeder-free conditions, or cell expansion. 

“Poor cell survival, cell stress, and accumulation of genetic abnormalities have been long-standing challenges for scientists culturing iPSCs,” said Dr. Singeç. “CEPT represents a novel end-to-end solution for iPSCs that can be utilized for routine cell passaging, cryopreservation/thawing, single-cell cloning, gene editing, and tissue engineering. I am thrilled to see that Fujifilm is offering the CEPT Cocktail, which will further enhance the iPSC workflow ensuring their standardized and safe application for groundbreaking advances in medicine.”

CEPT Cocktail will be available April 2023. To find more information, please visit: https://labchem-wako.fujifilm.com/us/index.html

About Fujifilm:

FUJIFILM Wako Chemicals U.S.A. Corporation with headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, is recognized around the world as a trusted supplier of high purity chemicals and reagents to service the Specialty Chemicals, Laboratory Chemicals and Diagnostics business sectors. For more information, please visit: https://wakousa.com/

FUJIFILM Corporation is an operating company of FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation. FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, leverages its depth of knowledge and proprietary core technologies to deliver Value from Innovation in its products and services in the business segments of healthcare, materials, business innovation, and imaging. Its relentless pursuit of innovation is focused on providing social value and enhancing the lives of people worldwide. Fujifilm is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information about Fujifilm’s Sustainable Value Plan 2030, click here. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the company had global revenues of approximately 2.5 trillion yen (21 billion $USD at an exchange rate of 122 yen/dollar). For more information, please visit: www.fujifilmholdings.com.