Shire Plc has reached an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of privately-held Pervasis Therapeutics Inc of Cambridge, Massachusetts which has a clinical-stage, cell-based therapy for enhancing blood vessel repair.
Researchers from the US and Canada have reported generating a new type of cell line, endodermal progenitor cells, which they say could be used as a new tool for modeling human disease including diabetes and liver disease.
A team of experts in advanced therapies has concluded that developers of cell, gene and tissue-engineered therapies may need more support from the regulatory authorities in translating their discoveries into products for possible commercial use.
Promethera Biosciences SA, which is developing a therapy for liver disease using allogeneic stem cells derived from healthy adult human livers, has raised €23.6 million in a series B financing round that included four corporate investors.
Two UK institutions have stepped up their support for gene therapy with a £3.1 million award to a consortium that is investigating an experimental treatment for cystic fibrosis. The therapy is poised to enter Phase 2 development.
Therapies derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells promise to be the most stable and cost-effective modality for future medicines and deserve support from public and private funders, according to a commentary in The Lancet.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved an allogeneic cell therapy- the first of its kind – to treat vascular wounds caused by surgery to treat mucogingival conditions in adults. The product, Gintuit, was developed by Organogenesis Inc of Massachusetts, US.
Oxford BioMedica Plc has reduced staff, appointed a new finance director, and closed an office in the US as it conserves cash in order to support the next phase of development of its candidate gene therapies and its therapeutic vaccine for cancer, TroVax.
Patients with two common eye diseases have been safely treated with cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESC), the first such treatment to be carried out in humans. The results were reported on 25 February 2012 in The Lancet.
The management of Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics NV is proposing to de-list the company and transfer its gene therapy assets to a new private concern following a regulatory rejection of its lead product Glybera. Shareholders will vote on the proposal on 30 March.