The Jackson Laboratory–New York Stem Cell Foundation Collaborative (JAX-NYSCF) and GSK plc (LSE: GSK) have entered a five-year strategic research collaboration aimed at advancing human cellular models of neurodegenerative disease research, with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s disease. The partnership brings together JAX-NYSCF’s automated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform and GSK’s translational science and drug discovery capabilities. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The collaboration is a research-stage partnership with both parties focused on generating disease-relevant cellular models — specifically, patient-derived iPSC lines differentiated into neurons, glia, and other cell types implicated in neurodegeneration — to interrogate the underlying biology of Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. JAX-NYSCF contributes its automated stem cell platform, access to characterized patient cohorts, and integrated data science tools. GSK contributes domain expertise in neurodegeneration, translational science, drug discovery infrastructure, and established capabilities in immunology and inflammation. The stated goal is to build stem cell models that are more predictive of human disease biology than conventional animal-based or engineered cell systems, and to use those models to identify and prioritize drug candidates for further development.
The JAX-NYSCF platform
JAX-NYSCF was formed following The Jackson Laboratory’s acquisition of the New York Stem Cell Foundation, announced in October 2025. Lon Cardon, president and CEO of JAX, described the GSK collaboration as “a concrete example of where early-stage biomedical research is heading,” noting that the combined entity now has the capacity to bridge traditional disease models with “next-generation patient-derived iPSC models that more accurately capture the complexity of human biology at scale.”
The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine, with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and approximately 3,000 employees across facilities in Maine, Connecticut, New York, California, Florida, and Japan.