Cell Medica Ltd of London, UK has signed a research and development agreement with a medical research center in Texas to help it commercialise clinically-proven cell therapies which have been pioneered by the US researchers.
Researchers at Newcastle University in the UK have reported the successful treatment of eight patients suffering from an eye disease known as limbal stem cell deficiency with the patients’ own stem cells. The treatment was administered in a clinical trial.
Geron Corporation of Menlo Park California, US expects to begin its first-in-man study of a new embryonic stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury in the third quarter of 2010. This follows discussions with the Food and Drug Administration during which a strategy was outlined for lifting the trial hold.
TiGenix NV of Belgium is set to acquire Orthomimetics, a privately-held UK medical technology company, for shares valued at €16 million in order to extend its regenerative medicines franchise.
BioCeramic Therapeutics, a privately-owned company that is developing bioactive materials for orthopaedic and dental applications has received £1.2 million to support its operations ahead of the commercialisation of its lead product in 2010.
The Riverside Company, a private equity group with offices in Brussels, Belgium, has acquired Crioestaminal SA of Portugal which collects stem cells from umbilical cord blood.
Cell Medica Ltd, an early-stage cellular therapeutics company, has received £1.95 million in new funding in order to commercialise its lead product, a cell therapy technique which protects patients from infection following a bone marrow transplant.
Osiris Therapeutics Inc said that preliminary results from two Phase 3 trials of its stem cell treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) did not reach their primary endpoints.
Geron Corporation of Menlo Park, California, has submitted further animal data to the US Food and Drug Administration on its first-in-man study of a stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury and the agency has put a clinical hold on the study.
Companies developing new cell and tissue-engineered products shouldn’t expect to see much venture funding for their activities at least until the current recession bottoms out and economic growth resumes, according to a US venture capitalist.