Allele Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals Closes Purchase of cGMP Facility for Production of Clinical-Grade Cells for Cell Therapy Applications
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- June 8, 2015 - Allele Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Allele"), a leader in the development of specialized cells for pharmaceutical drug discovery and regenerative medicine, today announced that it has closed the purchase of a new facility intended for its cGMP (current good manufacturing practices) production of clinical-grade cells for cell therapy applications.
The 18,000 square-foot facility, located near the main headquarters of Allele in San Diego, California, will be the center of production of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) using Allele's proprietary synthetic mRNA platform, a technology that generates hiPSCs with neither the random integration of foreign DNA nor the use of whole virus or virus-based elements, drawbacks that are common to other technologies for making hiPSCs. Such "footprint-free" cells will be produced by Allele for industrial and academic partnerships, as well as Allele's own efforts in the area of cellular therapeutics.
hiPSCs, as cells that have the potential to become any cell in the human body, hold great promise for therapies that can alleviate or cure human disease. Towards this end, Allele has recently made a number of advances regarding the differentiation of hiPSCs towards cells of specific lineages, such as neural progenitor cells, neurons, astrocytes, mesenchymal stem cells, cardiomyocytes, skeletal muscle cells, hepatocytes, and adipocytes, including brown fat cells. These cells would also be produced in the cGMP facility when intended for specific therapies.
"This dedicated facility will help us to realize a number of our visions in bringing the benefits of pluripotent stem cells to society," said Jiwu Wang, Ph.D., President and CEO of Allele. "The first step in helping people in need with all the stem cell technologies developed in labs is to clear a path to move them from bench to bedside, which requires high-quality, controlled production that can be monitored by the FDA. Together with our licensees, drug development partners, investors, and individuals who would like to participate in banking hiPSCs for research and therapy, we anticipate even faster pace in our business development in this area."
About Allele Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a private, San Diego-based company that explores the mechanisms of biological processes to develop technologies and products for biomedical researchers. Allele utilizes proprietary non-integrating cellular reprogramming methods to enable drug discovery and cell therapy, including human and non-human primate iPS cells, GMP-grade human iPS cells and their derivatives, and differentiated cell types. With additional expertise in genome modification and cell-based sensors/reporters, Allele provides advanced cell and assay development solutions. Allele also has developed a wide variety of reagents including camelid derived nano-antibodies, superior fluorescent proteins, and flowcytometry detection kits. The company has also been a leader in the RNAi field with its patents in Pol III promoter-driven siRNA, shRNA, and miRNA. The new facility is located at 6868 Nancy Ridge Dr., San Diego, CA 92121. The purchase is transacted on 06/08/15.