Cell therapy weekly: Vertex acquires ViaCyte to accelerate development of stem cell-derived islet cell replacement therapy
This week in cell and gene therapy: Vertex acquires ViaCyte to accelerate development of stem cell-derived islet cell replacement therapy, Discovery Life Sciences acquires AllCells to create premier global provider of critical starting materials and analytical services and Spiderwort secures US$13.2M to propel cellulose-based biomaterial to clinical stages.
The news highlights:
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- Vertex acquires ViaCyte to accelerate development of stem cell derived islet cell replacement therapy
- Discovery Life Sciences acquires AllCells to create premier global provider of critical starting materials and analytical services
- Spiderwort secures US$13.2M to propel cellulose-based biomaterial to clinical stages
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Vertex acquires ViaCyte to accelerate development of stem cell derived islet cell replacement therapy
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (MA, USA) has announced that it has acquired ViaCyte (CA, USA), a biotechnology company focused on delivering cell replacement therapies for Type 1 diabetes (T1D), in a US$320 million cash deal. This comes less than a week after the FDA lifted a clinical hold on Vertex’s Phase I/II trial for islet cell replacement therapy for T1D, VX-880. The deal is anticipated to close later this year and will bolster the ongoing VX-880 program by providing Vertex with Viacyte’s manufacturing facilities, human stem cell lines, and insights from their clinical experience in patients with T1D.
Michael Yang, President and CEO of ViaCyte, stated, “ViaCyte’s commitment to finding a functional cure for T1D is shared by Vertex, and this acquisition will allow Vertex to deploy ViaCyte’s tools, technologies and assets toward the development of Vertex’s multiple cell replacement therapy approaches designed to reduce the burden of millions of people living with T1D worldwide.”
Discovery Life Sciences acquires AllCells to create premier global provider of critical starting materials and analytical services
Biospecimen and biomarker specialists Discovery Life Sciences (AL, USA) has acquired AllCells (CA, USA), a leading global provider in procuring and customizing primary cell products for cell and gene therapy (CGT) applications. This acquisition is intended to create a premier global provider of critical starting materials and analytic services by leveraging their collective industry experience of over 30 years. Discovery’s existing CGT products will be combined with AllCells, creating a new business unit called AllCells, a Discovery Life Sciences Company.
Glenn Bilawsky, CEO of Discovery Life Sciences, stated, “We are very excited to welcome the AllCells team to the Discovery family. Bringing these two great companies together creates a scalable, end-to-end solution that gives our clients unprecedented access to reliable human cellular starting materials with integrated multi-omic analytic services to support cell and gene therapies.”
Spiderwort secures US$13.2M to propel cellulose-based biomaterial to clinical stages
Spiderwort Inc (Ottawa, Canada), a biotech start-up innovating in cellulose-based tissue scaffolding for a variety of regenerative medicine applications, has secured US$13.2 million in Series A financing. The funding was led by Horizons Ventures (Hong Kong), and supported by K5 Global (DE, USA), BoxOne Ventures (Montreal, Canada), Break Off Capital (London, UK), Capitals Angel Network (Ontario, Canada) and Anges Québec (Montreal, Canada) and other undisclosed investors. The funding will support the company as it progresses from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials. Spiderwort had two innovative biomaterials under development:
- Cellubridge™, the company’s proprietary cellulose-based biomaterial that promotes the repair and regeneration of the spinal cord, which was designated as a “Breakthrough Product” by the FDA in 2020
- CelluJuve™, a cellulose-based dermal filler that may be used in injury recovery and cosmetic enhancement
CEO of Spiderwort Charles Cuerrier stated, “With the closing of this financing round, we are now in position to accelerate our product development program to bring CelluBridge and CelluJuve closer to patients. Our biomaterials have the potential to transform lives and we are eager to share them with the world.”
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