SINGAPORE--Australia-based Cynata said it is on track to manufacture mesenchymal stem cells at a commercial scale after validation of its Cymerus MSC manufacturing technology and has an eye on companies in Japan as it seeks partnerships to reach the market, the company's top executive told FiercePharmaAsia.
The Cymerus process was validated at Waisman Biomanufacturing in the USA, achieving the world's first breakthrough in manufacturing consistent and reproducible stem cell products for therapeutic applications, said Ross Macdonald, the managing director and CEO at Cynata Therapeutics. "Cynata has provided the final piece to the big economic puzzle with a method to manufacture MSC product consistently and economically."
Cynata could monetize the Cymerus technology by making their own stem-cell medicines or using a license-driven strategy to partner with big pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, earning revenue through R&D royalties and seeking potential M&A opportunities.
"Our aim is to partner other companies with an interest in stem-cell based technology. We are already very active in that area and Cynata plans to secure partnerships within the 2015 calendar year," said Macdonald from an investor's conference in Sydney. He refrained from mentioning names of potential companies for partnerships.
However, legislation rolled out in 2013 by the Japanese government made getting stem cell products into that marketplace faster, cheaper and more attractive for use in regenerative medicine by offering fast-track approvals following proof of sufficient safety evidence.
Macdonald stated, however, that even with a model of production and manufacturing, it will take Cynata a few years before the technology turns into revenue.
- here's the Cynata presentation