New Partnership Leverages Promising Canadian Stem Cell IP
MaRS AND CANADIAN STEM CELL NETWORK PARTNERS IN TRANSNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY FOCUSED IN HIGH GROWTH AREA OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
Toronto, ON, April 11, 2007 -- MaRS Discovery District (MaRS) and the Canadian Stem Cell Network (SCN) today announced a partnership agreement whereby MaRS and SCN have agreed to work together to vigorously pursue long-term public or private financing for the translational development activities currently being undertaken by Aggregate Therapeutics Inc. (Aggregate); to further expand Aggregate’s potential portfolio into regenerative medicine; to build within MaRS commercialization capacity in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine accessible to all Canadian principal investigators; and to facilitate the private financing of spin-out companies from Aggregate and member institutions of SCN.Aggregate is a translational development company dedicated to developing products and therapies in the high growth area of regenerative medicine, which includes stem cell therapies, tissue engineering, and biomaterials. Aggregate holds the exclusive rights to work to commercialize promising stem cell technologies of 37 leading Canadian scientists at 16 major university and hospital research institutes. This radically new commercialization model allows investors to quickly identify the most innovative convergent technologies by offering them a central point to access early Intellectual Property.
MaRS takes over immediate ongoing management and governance responsibilities for Aggregate. MaRS will also provide SCN academic members with commercialization services like market research, translational development, and IP guidance. SCN is a national research network of Canada’s leading stem cell scientists, bioengineers and clinicians focused on translating research into clinical and commercial outcomes. MaRS is dedicated to supporting the next generation of significant global companies emerging from Canada’s strong foundation of science and technology innovation. MaRS will leverage its expertise in commercialization to ensure the success of Aggregate.
Dr. Annemarie Moseley will continue acting as CEO of Aggregate through the transition. An executive with over 15 years experience in stem cell device and biologics development, she is also: Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, Stryker Orthopedic; formerly executive consultant, Boston Scientific/Guidant; and also former CEO, Cognate Therapeutics, and Osiris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OSIR).
Analysts estimate the value of the regenerative medicine market at $8 billion (U.S.) by 2011, at a minimum. Regenerative medicine promises to cure previously untreatable chronic diseases and conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes, heart disease, renal failure, osteoporosis and spinal cord injuries. A truly multidisciplinary field, it brings together biology, physics, chemistry, and applied engineering.
“The creation of Aggregate Therapeutics is a major success story for Canada ,” noted Frank Gleeson, Chair of the SCN Board. “By establishing a national technology sharing agreement among the major research institutions and scientists across the country, Aggregate Therapeutics has been a pathfinder in facilitating the translation of Canada’s national stem cell treasure into clinical and commercial benefit for all Canadians. The new partnership with MaRS is a further sign of the inclusiveness that characterizes Canada’s unique, collaborative approach to commercializing basic science to produce better medicine.”
“MaRS has identified regenerative medicine as a priority area for investment, and we see the Aggregate model as strategically aligned with our efforts to connect outstanding scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors to create a more efficient commercialization marketplace,” said Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of MaRS.
As part of the agreement, a new Board of Directors of Aggregate will be established, including representatives from MaRS, SCN and Aggregate. MaRS will seek funding for Regium, the first spin-off of Aggregate, which addresses aesthetic medicine, joint disease, and diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).
Canadian medical researchers have been at the vanguard of regenerative medicine since the 1960’s. Through the efforts of the SCN, Canada is a leader in effectively co-ordinating grant funding for this research area.
About Stem Cell Network
The Stem Cell Network is a bold venture for Canada that brings together more than 70 leading scientists, clinicians, engineers, and ethicists, with the mandate to investigate the immense therapeutic potential of stem cells for the treatment of diseases currently incurable by conventional approaches. It is one of 23 Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE), Canada's flagship science and technology program. The NCE program is administered and funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), in partnership with Industry Canada. The SCN commercialization pilot project was co-funded by the SCN, CIHR, NSERC, Western Economic Diversification Canada and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.
ABOUT AGGREGATE THERAPEUTICS INC.
Aggregate Therapeutics Inc. is a development-stage regenerative-medicine company that has an exclusive first right to negotiate the commercialization of stem cell technologies from the laboratories of 37 leading Canadian scientists. The company uses a portfolio approach to commercialize therapeutic products for large markets with unmet clinical needs. It aggregates complementary technologies and leverages them across a common development platform, management team and source of capital. This approach gives the company critical mass and lowers the risk, cost, and time to market in developing and commercializing stem cell-based therapeutic products.ABOUT MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (www.marsdd.com) is a not-for-profit corporation founded by leaders from the business and public sectors, to improve commercial outcomes from Canada’s foundation of science and technology innovation. MaRS connects and fosters collaboration between the communities of science, business and capital through co-location in the MaRS Centre and more broadly through catalytic programs, structured networks and the MaRS web portal.CONTACT INFORMATION
John McCulloch, PhDVenture Group Advisor
MaRS Discovery District
416-673-8127
jmcculloch@marsdd.com
www.marsdd.com
James Price, MBA
Director of Partnerships and Corporate Development
Stem Cell Network
613-562-5114
james@stemcellnetwork.ca
www.stemcellnetwork.ca
MaRS FACTS
MaRS is part of many networks and consortia, but it did not emanate from any pre-existing partnership. MaRS is a new and autonomous entity.
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