Pharmaceutical Company Merck Serono signs an agreement to use Kadimastem's platform for drug screening.
Kadimastem will screen compounds of Merck Serono for potential new oral drugs to treat Multiple Sclerosis
Nes Ziona, Israel, April 5, 2012 – Kadimastem, an Israeli Biotechnology company that develops human pluripotent stem cell-related products, today announced the signing of a five year framework agreement with Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The agreement concerns the use of Kadimastem's drug-screening platform to discover new oral drugs for the treatment of the neurological disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
The system developed by Kadimastem, allows using human functional tissues produced industrially from pluripotent stem cells as a means to search for potential new drugs, a direct approach that has advantages over the use of animals. In Multiple Sclerosis, the insulating myelin sheaths which cover many nerves in the brain and spinal cord are destroyed, due to loss of the myelin-forming cells, resulting in the impairment of nerve function and severe neurological disabilities. It is estimated, that 2.5 million patients suffer from this disease around the globe. While the existing treatments act by slowing down the loss of myelin-forming cells, there is great interest in finding new medications that could repair the myelin by stimulating the regeneration of myelin-forming cells. The drug-screening project to be carried out through the Kadimastem-Merck Serono agreement, aims precisely at the discovery of potential oral drugs that act by stimulating myelin repair.
“We are pleased to announce this agreement with Merck-Serono, a company with robust experience in drug discovery, development and marketing in the Multiple Sclerosis area,” said Mr. Yossi Ben-Yossef, CEO of Kadimastem. "The undisclosed compensation for this agreement will provide financial support for Kadimastem's own in-house drug discovery initiatives, in the field of neurodegenerative diseases as well as in the field of Diabetes. Kadimastem also produces pancreatic islet cells from pluripotent stem cells, for screening of drugs enhancing insulin secretion and eventually for cellular therapy of Diabetes."
Prof. Michel Revel, Chief Scientist of Kadimastem, further commented: “We are very proud that after a thorough evaluation, Merck Serono decided to sign an agreement with us. We see it as a proof of our excellence in developing human myelin-forming cells and our capabilities in drug screening. We believe that this agreement is a first step towards further collaboration with Merck-Serono and other Pharmaceutical companies, in which our capabilities in drug screening on human functional cell systems will synergize with their capabilities in medicinal chemistry and clinical development, to make drugs available more rapidly and more efficiently".
Prof. Revel from the Weizmann Institute of Science was the Chief Scientist of InterPharm, an Israeli biotech company part of the Merck Serono group that developed Prof. Revel's groundbreaking research which lead to Rebif® (mammalian cell-produced recombinant Interferon beta-1a), today a leading drug for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis with annual sales by Merck Serono of over US$ 2.3 billion.
Mr. Amir Naiberg, CEO of Yeda, the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institiute of Science, said: "We are excited that Kadimastem, that was established around one of our technologies, is collaborating with Merck Serono. Merck Serono has a long and successful tradition of developing products that emerged from the Weizmann Institute labs, and we hope that Kadimastem will be another link in this chain. "
About Kadimastem
Kadimastem (www.kadimastem.com) is a biotechnology company focused on the industrial development and commercialization of human pluripotent stem cell-based products. At Kadimastem, the pluripotent stem cell technology is used to produce specialized human cells and tissues for two major types of medical applications: 1) Drug-screening platforms using human functional cells and tissues as in vitro assays for discovering novel therapeutic drugs for neurological diseases and diabetes, and 2) Cell therapy for regenerative medicine, to repair tissues and organs affected by diseases, such as implanting insulin-secreting pancreatic islet cells as a treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes. Kadimastem is developing these technologies in its state of the art 1,000 m2 facilities in the Weizmann Science Park (Ness Ziona, Israel), for industrial research and production, with a staff of PhD-level and MSc-level scientists. Kadimastem uses pluripotent human stem cells made available through licensing agreements with the Embryonic Stem Cell Center of the Hadassah Medical center in Jerusalem (Prof. Benjamin Reubinoff) and the Shaarei Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
About Merck Serono
Merck Serono is the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a global pharmaceutical and chemical company. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Merck Serono discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines of both chemical and biological origin.
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological condition which affects around 2.5 million people globally. It is a disease in which the nerves of the brain and spinal cord degenerate. Myelin, which provides insulation for nerves, is required for the proper conduction of impulses along the nerves and is also important for maintaining the health of the nerves. In multiple sclerosis, inflammation causes the myelin to disappear. Consequently, the electrical impulses that travel along the nerves become slower and eventually the nerves themselves are damaged. As more and more nerves are affected, the neurological disabilities progress and may result in body paralysis and even death. The market for MS drugs is estimated to reach $11.4 billion by 2015.
23-02-2012
Dr. Eli Opper, the former Israeli Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Labor and Trade as joined Kadimastem's team of Advisors. Dr. Opper was the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor for a period of 7 years. Previously he served as Chief of Staff and Corporate VP for R&D at Rafael – The Armament Development Authority, and as a venture partner at Giza Venture Capital. He has recently served as the Chairman of Eureka, an European R&D initiative agency. Dr. Opper has vast experience in global R&D and Business Development in the high tech sector.
January, 18 2012
Kadimastem appointed Mr. Ofer Haviv as a director.
On January 18th , 2012 the Board of Directors of Kadimastem appointed Mr. Ofer Haviv as one of its directors. Mr. Haviv is the CEO of Evogene. Prior to being named CEO of Evogene in late 2004, Mr. Haviv held the positions of company COO and CFO from 2002 to 2004 and was involved in Evogene's spin-off from Compugen. Prior to the spin-off, he held the position of Director of Finance and Treasurer of Compugen for four years, during which time the company completed two private placements and an IPO on NASDAQ. Earlier, Mr. Haviv was the CFO of Klei Zemmer. He was also an auditor with a leading accounting firm belonging to a network of the "Big Five".
June, 13 2011
The new Chief Scientist, Mr. Avi Hasson visits Kadimastem.
On June 13th , 2011 the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, Mr. Avi Hasson visited the facilities and laboratories of Kadimastem Ltd. The Chief Scientist was accompanied by the Head of the Life Sciences branch, Dr. Ora Dar, and the biotech expert, Dr. Talia Ben-Neria. The delegation was presented with recent advances in R&D and with an expanded R&D program, including a tour at the new 700 square meters laboratory space that house the Drug Discovery and cellular therapy programs of Kadimastem. The company's acting CEO, Mr. Yossi Ben-Yossef, thanked the chief scientist and his staff for their support in the Israeli biotech in general and in stem cell/cell therapy companies like Kadimastem in particular. The chief scientist and his staff expressed their strong belief in the potential of Israeli cell therapy companies like Kadimastem.
In the picture Mr. Avi Hasson, the chief Scientist in the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor with Kadimastem's acting CEO, Mr. Yossi Ben-Yossef.
July 7, 2010
The Chief Scientist visits Kadimastem.
Kadimastem is proud to report a visit by the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, Dr. Eli Opper. The Chief Scientist was accompanied by the Head of the Life Sciences branch, Dr. Ora Dar, and the professional referee, Dr. Talia Ben-Neria. The delegation was presented with recent advances in R&D and with an expanded R&D program, including a tour at a new 700 square meters laboratory space that will house the Drug Discovery program.