Orgenesis Inc. is a vertically-integrated biopharmaceutical company, founded in 2008, headquartered on the Northeast coast of the USA, with expertise and unique experience in cell therapy development and support services. Through its Israeli subsidiary, Orgenesis Ltd., Orgenesis is developing technology designed to successfully reprogram human liver cells into glucose-responsive, fully functional, Insulin Producing Cells (IPCs).
Orgenesis believes that converting the diabetic patient’s own tissue into insulin-producing cells has the potential to overcome the significant issues of donor shortage, cost and exposure to chronic immunosuppressive therapy associated with islet cell transplantation.
Through its Masthercell Global subsidiary, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), Orgenesis is able to deliver optimized process industrialization capacities to cell therapy organizations and speed up the arrival of their therapies onto the market. From technology selection to business modeling, GMP manufacturing, process development, and quality management, Masthercell’s teams are fully committed to helping their clients fulfill their objective of providing sustainable and affordable therapies to their patients.
Masthercell operates in a validated and flexible facility located in the strategic center of Europe within the Walloon healthcare cluster, Biowin. This integrated approach supports the Company’s business philosophy of bringing to market significant life-improving medical treatments.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is one of Israel’s leading research universities and among the world leaders in many fields. Through its technology transfer company, BGN Technologies, which is also responsible for the University’s patent portfolio, the University initiates, leads and implements projects with institutions, companies and foundations world-wide, and attracts strategic partners and investors in the fields of science, technology and industry.
Orgenesis Inc, a manufacturer, service provider and developer of advanced cell therapies, along with BGN Technologies and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN), both affiliates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), have announced a collaboration to develop and commercialize a novel alginate scaffold technology for cell transplantation, with an initial focus on autoimmune diseases.
The technology was invented and developed by Prof. Smadar Cohen, The Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell (RMSC) Research Center and Department of Biotechnology Engineering, BGU and Prof. Alon Monsonego, Faculty of Health Sciences and NIBN, BGU. Under the license agreement, Orgenesis will receive the exclusive, worldwide right to make, develop and commercialize products utilizing the novel scaffold technology, subject to achieving certain milestones.
“We are proud to partner with leading scientists at Ben-Gurion University, who developed a breakthrough platform for cell transplantation, providing an ideal immunoregulatory environment within a highly vascularized macroporous alginate scaffold. We believe that this advanced scaffold technology offers a number of promising advantages including improved immunomodulation, a 3D cell configuration designed to enhance the target cell performance, and a highly vascularized scaffold structure to enhance oxygen delivery to the target cells. Initial in-vitro and in-vivo testing have been positive, and we are excited about the potential of this technology to enhance a wide range of autologous and allogeneic cell therapies.” – Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis
“We are excited to partner with Orgenesis, a leader and pioneer in the field of cell therapy. By combining our scaffold technology with a number of the unique cell therapies Orgenesis is developing, along with other co-development partners of Orgenesis, we believe our technology can facilitate immune tolerance and improve cell performance after implantation, thereby potentially improving clinical outcomes. Moreover, we believe that Orgenesis has developed a highly scalable and cost-effective platform for commercialization of new cell therapies, including clinical development, cell manufacturing, and logistics, which could potentially help accelerate the path to market for these breakthrough technologies.” – Dr. Ora Horovitz, Senior VP for Business Development at BGN Tchnologies
Sources:
- https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/08/23/1555714/0/en/Orgenesis-Announces-Collaboration-with-Ben-Gurion-University-to-Develop-and-Commercialize-a-Novel-Scaffold-Technology-for-Cell-Transplantation.html?print=1
- https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/orgenesis#section-overview
