The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Cellular Dynamics International patents on the reprogramming of human cells into pluripotent stem cells from human blood, the company announced today.

“These patents are further evidence of CDI’s continued leadership in the pluripotent stem cell field,” CDI CEO Bob Palay said in a statement. “These patents cover the reprogramming of both fresh and banked blood, enabling our customers to access any samples in their research quest to improve healthcare.”

According to a release, the patents–issued in April, June and July, respectively–cover reprogramming using freshly collected blood as well as samples stored in blood banks, the reprogramming of CD34+ hematopoietic blood cells isolated from fresh blood samples into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and the production of iPSCs from B cells collected from a banked blood sample and immortalized by introducing elements from the Epstein-Barr virus.