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Medgenics hails second-gen viral vectors

Last updated: 07:54 28 Oct 2013 GMT, First published: 08:54 28 Oct 2013 GMT

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Medgenics (LON:MEDG) is to accelerate development work after further evidence of the success of its Biopump technology.

New, positive data on the company's second-generation viral vectors were highlighted in a poster presentation at the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Congress in Madrid.

Entitled "Second generation EPODURE Biopump markedly extends duration of EPO delivery in mice could prolong therapeutic effect in patients," the poster was presented yesterday by Reem Miari, MSc and Dr Nir Shapir of Medgenics, and study authors.

The new study demonstrated the company's second-generation gene therapy vectors provided substantial improvements in levels and durability of therapeutic protein secretion 'in vitro' (i.e. test tube conditions) and 'in vivo' (i.e. in living beings).

Furthermore, the new vectors incorporated improvements in surgical technique, including co-administration of Depo-Medrol (methylprednisolone acetate) on implantation.

The company highlighted an impressive improvement in the sustained and stable delivery of serum human erythropoietin (hEPO) when Depo-Medrol was applied to second generation vectors; in these tests, animals' serum hEPO levels remained 40-50 fold higher for over 100 days post-implantation when compared to first generation vector with no Depo-Medrol.

"The second-generation viral vectors show potential to substantially increase the duration of the protein secretion of the Biopump with enhanced surgical techniques. These advances can be clinically meaningful, particularly for patients on chronic protein therapy. Based on these results we plan to accelerate our development work, and will advance the second-generation vectors into human clinical trials," said Dr Garry Neil, global head of Research & Development at Medgenics.

The Biopump technology platform produces therapeutic proteins in the body using a small tissue explant from the patient's own skin. It has a number of advantages over traditional injection techniques, including a longer and more stable delivery of dosages.

The company plans to initiate human trials with a Biopump containing the second generation viral vector and new implantation protocol in the first half of 2014.

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