BioLamina and partners in the IndiCell innovation community will receive SEK 40 million to establish and operate individualised cell therapy treatments in Sweden.
The funded project focuses on an autologous therapy model, where skin cells are harvested from the patients themselves, then gently reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and further into therapeutic cells in the laboratory, to finally be returned to the patient as a treatment.
The future project will implement clinical workflows for cell therapy and will initially focus on treatments for Parkinson’s disease and macular degeneration. The long-term vision for the innovation environment is to become a major centre for supporting iPS cell-based treatment of various diseases in Sweden. The aim is to ensure that Swedish innovations in regenerative medicine can reach the clinical stage for the benefit of healthcare and patients.
“The gap between cell therapy research results and the commercial stage with clinical manufacturing is very difficult but important to close. IndiCell aims to put in place the crucial processes and infrastructure to close this gap and enable innovation projects and necessary skills to stay within Sweden. BioLamina is part of building some of the core methodological processes and ensuring innovation management and further commercialisation. We look forward to working with the great team!”
//Dr Therese Kallur, Director Business Development at BioLamina
IndiCell consists of internationally leading academic researchers with experience in bringing advanced cell therapies to the clinic (Lund University, Karolinska Institutet, Royal Institute of Technology), the public healthcare sector (Region Skåne, Region Stockholm), and life science companies (BioLamina AB, AcouSort AB, Lab-On-A-Bead AB). The innovation environment is coordinated by Lund University and led by Professor Anna Falk.
Cell therapy is the administration of living cells to a patient to replace damaged cells in the body. iPS cells enable a variety of cell replacement strategies as they have the potential to become any cell type in the human body. It is expected that over the next 5-10 years, cell therapies will significantly reduce the need for heavy drug treatments and prolong and improve patients’ lives.
The project is funded for 5 years by the Swedish Innovation Agency, Vinnova.
For more information please contact:
BioLamina AB, Therése Kallur, Director Business Development
E-mail: therese.kallur@biolamina.com
