France-based TxCell SA has enrolled the first patient in a new trial of its cell therapy for Crohn’s disease which aims to demonstrate that 160 patients with refractory disease can experience relief. Crohn’s is an inflammatory bowel disease affecting the gastrointestinal tract.
Israel-based Pluristem Therapeutics Inc has entered into a long-term collaboration with the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem to assess the potential efficacy of a cell therapy for the treatment of complications arising from bone marrow transplantations.
Promethera Biosciences SA, a Belgian company developing cell-based treatments for in-born errors of metabolism and acquired liver disease, has raised €20.3 million in a Series C venture capital round and €5 million in loans and subsidies from the regional government of Wallonia.
2015 is expected to be the year in which gene and cell therapy companies produce enough clinical data to give investors a steer on the commercialistion prospects for the industry as a whole.
The US Food and Drug Administration has granted ‘breakthrough therapy’ status to a gene therapy that is in Phase 3 development for patients with an inherited eye disorder that can lead to blindness. The developer is Spark Therapeutics of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dendreon Corporation, developer of the first ever FDA-approved cellular immunotherapy, announced on 10 November that it had filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.
Cardio3 BioSciences SA of Belgium has acquired the US medical device specialist, CorQuest Medical Inc, for an undisclosed amount of money in order to strengthen its heart failure franchise. Cardio3 already has an autologous stem cell treatment for heart failure in Phase 3 development.
Bluebird bio Inc has treated the first patient in a Phase 1/2 trial designed to establish the safety and efficacy of a gene therapy procedure in patients with sickle cell disease. This is reportedly the first ever gene therapy study in patients with this disorder.
Data showing that robust human pancreatic beta cells can be produced in vitro is being described as a breakthrough for modern science and specifically for the future treatment of Type 1 diabetes.
In a major expansion of an existing gene-therapy deal, Oxford BioMedica Plc has reached an agreement with Novartis to supply it with greater quantities of lentiviral vector that can be used to gene