Haemophilia therapy project makes progress
Sernova’s Cell Pouch™ for treatment of haemophilia A has received confirmation of its next stage of funding worth €5.6m to the HemAcure Consortium.
The clinical stage regenerative medicine company announced significant scientific progress achieved in the development of a ‘first in world’ personalised regenerative medicine therapy for the treatment of haemophilia A patients.
The therapy is to treat severe haemophilia A, a serious genetic bleeding disorder caused by missing or defective clotting factor VIII in the blood stream. This therapy consists of Sernova’s implanted Cell Pouch device transplanted with therapeutic cells, corrected to produce factor VIII at a level sufficient to significantly reduce the side effects of the disease and improve patient quality of life.
Dr Philip Toleikis, Sernova president and CEO, said: “The international HemAcure consortium team members are pleased with the groundbreaking scientific advances achieved at this point and are on track for this regenerative medicine solution to advance into human clinical evaluation.
“Sernova’s Cell Pouch platform technologies are achieving important world-first milestones in both diabetes and now haemophilia, two significant clinical indications which are being disrupted by its regenerative medicine approach aimed at significantly improving patient quality of life.”
Dr Joris Braspenning, HemAcure programme co-ordinator, added: “We are thrilled with the approval by the EU of the next stage of funding for the HemAcure programme based on our quality interim report. This is a strong validation of the consortium’s dedication and teamwork and the importance of this regenerative medicine approach.”
Sernova has developed its innovative Cell Pouch technologies for the placement and long-term survival and function of immune-protected therapeutic cells. It has proven to be safe and efficacious in multiple small and large animal preclinical models and has demonstrated safety alone and with therapeutic cells in a clinical trial in humans for another therapeutic indication.
