Israeli biotechnology company Gamida-Cell today announced a strategic co-operation agreement with drug maker Teva (Nasdaq: TEVA). Under the agreement, Gamida-Cell will receive $3 million from Teva, making it the first stem cell therapy company to receive an investment from the Israeli drug maker.
Gamida-Cell is currently enrolling patients in the US for a phase I clinical trial of its cord blood stem cell product StemEx, for the treatment of advanced stages of hematologic malignancies such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord after a baby is born. It is rich in stem cells - the building blocks of the blood, immune system and body tissue.
Once the phase I clinical trial is completed, Teva will have the right to broaden collaboration on the StemEx cord blood product.
There are in excess of 1.5 million people diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma worldwide. According to Gamida-Cell, StemEx is the only biological product at the clinical trial stage to utilize a small molecule that enables large-scale, self-renewal of stem cells ex vivo (outside the living body).
There are currently 250,000 patients in the US, Europe and Japan suffering from a variety of malignancies, who could potentially benefit from expanded cord blood transplantation, Gamida-Cell says. StemEx offers a likely means to compensate for the lack of suitable donors and in turn delivers a better treatment.
The company estimates the market potential for this particular agent at $6 billion, and the first commercial product is expected in 2006.
Teva Strategic Business Planning and New Ventures VP Dr. Aaron Schwartz said, “We are excited for the opportunity to enter into the promising field of stem cell therapeutics with Gamida-Cell. Pre-clinical results have shown that StemEx offers a novel solution for the expansion of the cord blood stem cell supply without differentiation. We are encouraged by the results to date and believe it has great promise for several disease indications that are not adequately addressed by existing therapeutics.”
Gamida-Cell is headquartered in Jerusalem with US operations based in Boston. The company was founded in 1998 on the back of technology for stem cell expansion licensed from and jointly developed with Hadassah University’s Medical Center in Jerusalem.
In July of 2001, Gamida-Cell raised $9.75 million from investors, including Elscint BioMedical, Denali Ventures LLC Fund, Bio-Technology General (Nasdaq: BTGC) and French venture capital firm Auriga Partners. Earlier in 2001, Gamida-Cell raised $7 million from Elscint. The company’s CEO is Ehud Marom.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 12 March, 2003