Geron Corporation announced that the company has entered into a collaboration with University Campus Suffolk (UCS) in the UK to develop human embryonic stem cell-derived chondrocytes for the treatment of cartilage damage and joint disease.

The development program will be led by Professor Brendon Noble, recently appointed to UCS as Head of the School of Health, Science and Social Care. Professor Noble was previously at the University of Edinburgh. The project will be based within the new biotechnology unit at UCS, which has been supported by Suffolk County Council and the East of England Development Agency. The program will be jointly funded by Geron and UCS. UCS will provide facilities and equipment for the project. Geron will fund the direct costs of the development work at UCS.

"We are very pleased to enter into this collaboration with UCS, and to continue our work with Professor Noble," said Thomas B. Okarma, Geron's president and chief executive officer. "We continue to advance the orthopaedic programme in the UK because of the pool of talented stem cell scientists and the consistent leadership shown by the government, both nationally and regionally, in supporting the development of stem cell therapies."

"Biotechnology is a key area of growth for UCS," said Professor Mike Saks, Provost, UCS. "We are delighted to be collaborating with Geron, a leader in the field of stem cell therapies, to develop new treatments for debilitating conditions such as osteoarthritis that have such a significant impact on health and social welfare."

Preclinical studies conducted by Professor Noble's group have shown that injection of hESC-derived chondrocytes (GRNCHND1) into damaged cartilage of the knee joint of immunocompetent rats produced well-integrated cartilage showing full repair of the lesion for at least nine months

"The research in the UK has demonstrated that hESC-derived chondrocytes can generate cartilage that appears virtually indistinguishable from host tissue within months after implantation in damaged tissue in a rodent model," said Jane S. Lebkowski, Geron's senior vice president and chief scientific officer, regenerative medicine. "Current studies are being conducted in a large animal model to assess cartilage repair and function in a model resembling cartilage damage in the human knee. The next phase of the program will involve development of scaled manufacturing of the chondrocytes to support preclinical studies and eventual clinical testing."

University Campus Suffolk (UCS) opened in 2007 and is one of the newest higher education institutions in the UK.

Geron is developing first-in-class biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer and chronic degenerative diseases, including spinal cord injury, heart failure and diabetes.