Ralph Kern, MD, MHSc

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Ralph Kern, MD, MHSc, is the President and Chief Medical Officer at Cell-Gene company. He brings significant industry and neurodegenerative disease experience to the organization. His biotech experience includes senior medical roles at Genzyme, Novartis, and Biogen. At Novartis he was Vice President and Head of the Neuroscience Medical Team, leading the global launch of Gilenya® in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (rrMS). At Biogen he was Senior Vice President and Head of the Worldwide Medical Organization. His team launched Zinbryta® in rrMS and Spinraza® in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and developed the medical and scientific strategy for MS, SMA, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Kern completed his neurology training at McGill University, practiced neuromuscular neurology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and was head of the Postgraduate Academic Neurology Program at the University of Toronto. He completed further postgraduate training in Health Administration at the Institute for Health Policy Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Kern received his MD degree from Queen’s University, is board-certified in neurology and neuromuscular disease, and is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
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Hi
Here you can see some frequently asked questions or contact us!

What passage are your cells?

Our human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs) are provided at a population doubling level (PDL) of 8-10 post-mononuclear isolation (Bone Marrow; Equivalent Passage 2) or 14-18 post-isolation from the perivascular region of Wharton’s Jelly (Umbilical Cord; Equivalent Passage 3). Due to variabilities of seeding and harvest densities we characterize our MSC “True Age” in terms of their PDL.

How often should I feed your cells?

A: There is no need to feed cells between passages. Our media is engineered to be a batch culture media, where no media exchange or feed is necessary when following our suggested protocols.

Are your vials sold from pooled donors?

No, we do not pool donors at any time during our production. Master Cell Banks (MCBs) are created from each donor source. Working Cell Banks (WCBs) are produced from our MCBs for general product sales.

What characterization do you provide for your hMSCs?

We characterize our hMSCs by following ISCT criteria: cell identity (surface marker expression), functional potency (angiogenic cytokine and IDO secretion), and trilineage differentiation (adipo-, osteo-, and chondrogenesis). This information is provided to allow customers to choose the optimal hMSC tissue type and donor for their specific application or target indication.