Fibrocell Science, Inc., an autologous cellular therapeutic company focused on the development of innovative products for aesthetic, medical and scientific applications, has signed an exclusive license agreement with The Regents of the University of California, under which it acquired the rights to commercially apply discoveries resulting from the scientific collaboration between the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Fibrocell Science, Inc.
This is the second collaboration between Fibrocell Science and UCLA. As part of the existing agreement, using Fibrocell Science’s proprietary technology, UCLA researchers discovered rare stem cells and cell types with regenerative properties within adult human skin.
Fibrocell Science Inc. has signed an exclusive license agreement with The Regents of the University of California and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), using Fibrocell Science’s proprietary technology, UCLA researchers discovered rare stem cells and cell types with regenerative properties within adult human skin.
These breakthrough research findings were recently published in the inaugural issue of BioResearch Open Access (May 2, 2012). The new licence agreement sets the stage for the continuation of the collaboration and the development of future clinical research programmes that may lead to new personalized therapies or diagnostic tools for a variety of diseases and conditions.
“Fibrocell Science is looking forward to advancing and continuing our successful, long term relationship with The Regents of the University of California and UCLA. Already, our scientific collaboration with UCLA has produced exciting results that point to outstanding possibilities in the field of personalized, regenerative medicine,” said David Pernock, chairman and CEO, Fibrocell Science.
The licence agreement pertains to research led by James A Byrne, PhD, an Assistant Professor in UCLA’s Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. His recent research published in BioResearch Open Access was related to two subtypes of cells: SSEA3-expressing regeneration-associated (SERA) cells, which may play a role in the regeneration of human tissue in response to injury, and adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are under investigation by many independent researchers for their ability to differentiate into cells that can form bone, fat and cartilage. Finding these specialized cells within skin cell cultures is important because rather than undergoing a surgical organ or tissue transplantation to replace diseased or destroyed tissue, patients may one day be able to benefit from procedures by which stem cells are extracted from their skin, differentiated into specific cell types and re-implanted into their bodies to exert a therapeutic effect. Research in this area is ongoing.
The licence agreement went into effect on May 3, 2012 and unless terminated earlier, is in effect until the last-to-expire licensed patent. As part of the ongoing collaboration with Fibrocell Science, Dr Byrne will continue to lead the investigational team at UCLA and in his role as a scientific advisor to the company.
Fibrocell Science has also signed a sponsored research agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to progress the research currently underway at UCLA. Under the agreement, MIT researchers will investigate viable techniques to maintain the same subpopulations of dermal cells, produce clinically meaningful quantities and deliver them to the body. The research will be led by Professor Daniel Anderson, PhD, who has a dual appointment in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology. The sponsored research agreement with MIT also went into effect on May 3, 2012 and will end on June 30, 2015, unless the agreement is extended in the future.
Fibrocell Science has developed an innovative technology to isolate, purify and multiply a patient’s own fibroblast cells (a type of skin cell that makes collagen) for injection. Initially, this patented, proprietary technology was applied for use via the company’s first product on the market, LAVIV (azficel T). The technology is also being used by Dr Byrne and his research team at UCLA to study the composition of skin tissue samples to identify, isolate, purify and multiply specialized cell types as reported in BioResearch Open Access.
UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programmes.