Orgenesis (NASDAQ:ORGS) Inc said that a consortium led by its subsidiary, MIDA Biotech, has won a 4-million-euro grant under the European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenge Program which supports cutting-edge science and technology in order to create new market opportunities.
The consortium members include MIDA Biotech B.V., DeepMed IO, and Leiden University, with MIDA acting as the lead. The grant is for technologies enabling the production of autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using microfluidic technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), the company said.
"We are honored to receive this prestigious grant to advance technologies for the production of personalized iPSCs that can be utilized for autologous adoptive cancer immunotherapies, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and regenerative medicine," said Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis in a statement.
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"The proprietary process is designed to standardize the GMP production of autologous iPSCs and speed production at a fraction of the current cost. Current processes face numerous challenges, such as lack of reproducibility and high cost due to human involvement. However, we believe we can produce patient-specific IPSCs much faster and at lower cost with a goal of integrating it into our Orgenesis Mobile Processing Units and Labs (OMPULs)," Caplan added.
iPSCs are cells that can be differentiated into any cell type and hold significant potential to cure health problems including degenerative diseases, cancer, cancer therapy-associated disease and defective tissues, the company noted.
It added that the cost-effective production of autologous iPSCs is necessary to fully realize the regenerative potential of these cells and the technologies that will be developed by the consortium promises a step in the right direction.
“The OMPULs are designed as multi-purpose, mobile, autonomous GMP facilities that can be rapidly deployed as a standardized industrial cleanroom alternative at or near the point of care. Through this grant, we plan to utilize cutting-edge single cell genomics and bioinformatics research to identify cells of the highest quality and develop a database that we expect will be the basis for AI software to select cells that meet clinical standards. Ultimately, we believe this process holds the potential to enable numerous new therapies that could be more affordable and accessible to patients," added Caplan.
Orgenesis is a global biotech company working to unlock the full potential of cell and gene therapies (CGTs) in an affordable and accessible format at the point of care.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com