FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, Inc. (FCDI) and the University of California – Irvine have entered into an exclusive patent license agreement that will enable FCDI to differentiate pluripotent stem cells into microglia cells, a brain cell type that plays a critical role in preserving the function of the brain, the company announced recently.

“With UCI’s technology, FCDI will bring to market iPSC-derived microglia that will provide researchers with better tools to characterize microglia from donors with neurological diseases, to develop assays that distinguish between normal and diseased behaviors and to advance efforts in discovering new therapies,” FCDI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Seimi Satake said in a statement.

According to a release, the agreement will allow Cellular Dynamics to license and commercialize UCI’s technologies for derivation of microglia in the commercial research field and also a non-exclusive patent license agreement to commercialize microglia media formulation.

Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 5.1 million people in the United States.