Stem Cell Platform Leads To Discovery of Drug Targets

Proprietary technology for derivation and rescue of embryonic stem cell lines has led to the discovery of novel drug targets.

ThromboGenics (Leuven, Belgium) announced that it has completed a global license agreement with Millipore Corp. (Billerica, MA, USA) under which ThromboGenics will exclusively license its technology for production of the stem cell culture medium marketed by Millipore as Resgro. The technology for producing Resgro was originally developed by the ThromboGenics drug discovery team as part of its successful efforts to identify several of its drug discovery candidates currently in clinical trials.

Under this agreement, ThromboGenics will license to Millipore its patents, data, and know-how for the manufacturing, development, and evaluation of Resgro. Millipore will assume responsibility for the exclusive production and sales of the medium, as well as all future costs. ThromboGenics will receive upfront and milestone payments, and will earn double-digit royalties on Millipore's sales.

ThromboGenics is out-licensing this important stem cell research platform as part of its strategic plan to focus resources on the company's clinical pipeline. Revenue derived from this license will be used toward the acceleration and expansion of clinical programs for several promising drug candidates, including microplasmin for treatment of back of the eye diseases, certain vascular disorders, and TB-402, a novel anti-coagulant therapy for prevention of thrombosis in a number of important disease settings.

Prof. Désiré Collen, CEO of ThromboGenics, said, We are pleased to announce this license with Millipore, a company with a well-respected reputation in stem cell research. We believe this agreement will place our proprietary technology in highly capable hands, enabling and ensuring the production, sales, and distribution of an important tool for improved transgenesis. This deal, which demonstrates ThromboGenics' cutting edge science, will allow us to generate additional financial resources to invest in our late stage clinical pipeline.

Resgro stem cell culture medium was originally developed as a means to enable the derivation of new non-permissive strains of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and to rescue existing stem cell lines. Resgro medium will allow derivation and maintenance of a broad range of ES cell lines from all inbred mouse strains, including strains that generate low percentage chimeras or have lost germ line transmission capability. This medium, which is conditioned by a fibroblast cell line and is available in ready-to-use form, has been shown to be superior to conventional ES culture systems, even in the absence of feeder cells.


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