BioBridge Global, StemBioSys Announce Expanded Collaboration to Provide Human Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells for Research
San Antonio, Texas (PRWEB) December 10, 2015 -- Local organizations BioBridge Global (BBG) and StemBioSys Inc. (SBS), a privately held development-stage biomedical company in the emerging field of stem cells and regenerative medicine are expanding their research collaboration with the goal of bringing a new source of stem cells to the research market.
The deal will leverage the unique capabilities of StemBioSys and of BioBridge Global’s regenerative medicine subsidiary, GenCure. GenCure will provide selected umbilical cord blood units, collected after normal deliveries but not otherwise bankable for future transplants. The process will involve first isolating the small subset of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from the cord blood unit followed by expanding the numbers of these cells on StemBioSys’ patented HPMETM technology. It is anticipated that those expanded cells will be further expanded using a GenCure-owned commercial-scale bioreactor. Through their initial collaboration, GenCure and SBS have confirmed that commercially viable quantities of cells can be efficiently produced in bioreactors. StemBioSys noted that the HPME technology is essential to ensuring a sufficient quantity of cells is available to start the expansion in the commercial-scale bioreactor.
The cells will be marketed to researchers in the United States and abroad to explore a wide range of scientific and translational questions aimed at the eventual development of clinical solutions using MSCs. Initially, StemBioSys will oversee manufacturing, marketing and sales of the cells.
“The marketing and sales activities will fit very nicely into our ongoing activities for our HPME technology,” StemBioSys CEO Bob Hutchens said. “We’ll be talking to the same customers we’re talking with now – but in the near future, we’ll have this other service to offer, the expanded cells. After our year of collaboration, StemBioSys and GenCure have the know-how and capacity to get this project started.” Hutchens noted that “this is one more of what we believe will be many commercial applications of our HPME technology.”
“Through our subsidiary GenCure, BioBridge Global is continuing its reach into the frontier of regenerative medicine,” interim GenCure COO Sean Thompson said. “This latest collaboration with StemBioSys will move us one step closer to our goal of delivering life-enhancing products to the bedside.”
The relationship with StemBioSys began in 2012 when BBG subsidiary South Texas Blood &Tissue Center supplied cord blood cells to StemBioSys for research.
In 2014, BBG constructed lab space inside its headquarters building to conduct research and development activities and to make cGMP-quality products using collaborators’ patented procedures involving various types of adult stem cells. This step in the BBG-SBS research effort expands the use of that facility into UCB stem cell products.
“We’re excited about the prospect of deepening our relationship with BioBridge Global and GenCure,” Hutchens said.
“We’re thrilled that our collaboration has been so productive and will result in a fully realized product in the market,” BBG CEO Linda Myers said.
The organizations plan to spend the first half of 2016 optimizing the manufacturing process and developing the marketing and sales plans. The product is expected to be launched into the market mid-2016.
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About StemBioSys Inc.: Stem cells are the future of medicine. We are the future of stem cells. StemBioSys is located in San Antonio, Texas, proximate to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio from which we have licensed proprietary and disruptive technology for the enhanced isolation, growth and delivery of stem cells for research, diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
About BioBridge Global: BioBridge Global (BBG) is a San Antonio, Texas-based nonprofit corporation that offers diverse services through its subsidiaries – the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, QualTex Laboratories, GenCure and The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. BBG provides products and services in blood resource management, cellular therapy, donated umbilical cord blood and human tissue as well as testing of blood, plasma and tissue products for clients in the United States and worldwide. BBG is rooted in the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, which has a proud history of serving the South Texas region and beyond for more than 40 years. BBG is committed to supporting groundbreaking research, addressing unmet clinical needs and enabling the development and commercialization of novel biotechnology products. Visit us at http://www.biobridgeglobal.org.
About HPMETM: The HPME technology replicates the three-dimensional “home” in which stem cells naturally reside and proliferate. This unique technology enables users to isolate and grow stem cells from a variety of sources. The three-dimensional microenvironment allows a variety of stem cells to replicate more rapidly and with greater preservation of stem cell phenotype (“stemness”) than traditional tissue culture plastic. It has allowed StemBioSys to efficiently grow stem cells from sources such as adipose tissue, bone marrow and umbilical cord blood and tissue, opening potential for research, pharmaceutical and novel clinical uses.
Bob Hutchens, StemBioSys, http://www.stembiosys.com, +1 210-877-9323, [email protected]
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