Orgenesis partners with Belgium's RevaTis to develop stem cells for therapeutic use

Orgenesis Inc (NASDAQ:ORGS) is teaming up with regenerative medicine and cell therapy firm RevaTis on a new joint venture to produce certain stem cells for therapeutic use, it said Wednesday. The two firms plan to leverage Orgenesis’s autologous Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Biotech Platform to develop novel therapies and advance clinical trials. Under the agreement, RevaTis and Orgenesis will use the former’s patented technique to obtain muscle-derived mesenchymal stem cells (mdMSC) as a source of exosomes and various other cellular products. READ: Orgenesis and ExcellaBio develop a breakthrough manufacturing process for bioxomes Orgenesis and RevaTis are hoping to build on RevaTis’s early success in animals to develop therapies and advance human trials using Orgenesis’s expertise and Point-of-Care platform, which include automated systems, 3D printing and bioreactor technologies. RevaTis’s technologies are highly differentiated and ideally suited for Orgenesis’s CGT Biotech Platform, Orgenesis CEO Vered Caplan told shareholders.  “We believe that this exclusive partnership with RevaTis further validates the significant value proposition of the Orgenesis vertically integrated business model,” Caplan said in a statement Wednesday.  “This model allows us to streamline the entire process of therapeutic development and delivery of cell therapies within the patient care setting through our Cell & Gene Biotech Platform.” RevaTis also has existing partnerships with research institutions in the US, the Middle East and India that will be “highly complementary” to Orgenesis’s POCare Network, according to Caplan. “We look forward to utilizing the Orgenesis Cell & Gene Biotech Platform with a goal to lower the costs and accelerate the timeline of bringing these innovative therapies through the clinic and potentially into commercialization.” RevaTis CEO Didier Serteyn said the firm was “delighted” to partner with Orgenesis on the new venture. “We selected Orgenesis as a result of their extensive experience in the field of autologous cell therapies, including technical, clinical and regulatory expertise,” Serteyn said in a statement. “We expect that this will be valuable as we aim to advance our platform through commercialization.” Germantown, Maryland-based Orgenesis is a vertically integrated biopharmaceutical company with expertise in developing advanced cell therapies and manufacturing. Shares of Orgenesis jumped 5.8% on Wednesday to reach $4.40 by midday. Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas