The grant is a consortium between the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, TrakCel and Fisher Bioservices.
Grant awarded to lead cost effective manufacturing strategy of its lead product REX-001
London, UK, 23rd January 2018: Rexgenero, a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company developing advanced cell-based therapeutics with a focus on Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI), today announces it has secured, with its project consortium partners, £1.4 million in funding for a £1.8 million project from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, to lead an industrial research project of the commercial manufacture of its product REX-001.
The aim of the research project, entitled “Cost-driven process redesign, automation and scale-out for commercial manufacture of REX-001 therapy”, is to design a cost-effective manufacturing strategy for Rexgenero’s autologous cell-based therapy over a 21-month period. The grant is a consortium between the Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Catapult, TrakCel and Fisher Bioservices (part of Thermo Fisher Scientific).
REX-001 is a novel autologous cell therapy that has been shown to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels to restore blood supply to the limb, alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life of patients with CLI.
Joe Dupere, Rexgenero’s CEO, said “We are pleased to receive this grant from Innovate UK and to work with CGT Catapult, TrakCel and Fisher Bioservices to conduct this important research into cost-effective commercial cell manufacturing. Innovate UK is committed to be a driving force in healthcare innovation and, through CGT Catapult, to establish the UK as the leading gateway for the regenerative medicine field in Europe.” Joe added, “The grant will be instrumental to help us develop cost-effective manufacturing for REX-001 at commercial-scale to support launch of the product throughout the UK and Europe from a small number of strategic manufacturing hubs.”
Keith Thompson, CEO, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, said: “We are delighted to be working with Rexgenero, TrakCel and Fisher Bioservices to design a cost-effective manufacturing strategy for Rexgenero’s autologous cell-based therapy. The project is a great example of using the end to end capabilities of the Catapult and the cluster of expert firms supporting the growing UK Advanced Therapy ecosystem.”
Ravi Nalliah, CEO, TrakCel, said: “The commercialisation phase for cell therapies requires multi-layered supply chains involving many patients, individuals and organisations. This is why consortiums and organisations focused on commercializing cell therapies require an advanced software developer for supply chain tracking and orchestration. By adding TrakCel’s capabilities to consortia, such as the consortium concentrating on the REX-001 project, this enables a more effective commercialisation strategy for cell therapies to reach patients more effectively.”
Robert Jones, Global Director, Advanced Therapies at Fisher Bioservices (part of Thermo Fisher Scientific), commented: “We are really excited to participate in this Innovate UK funded project alongside Rexgenero, CGT Catapult and TrakCel. The output will undoubtedly help drive cost-effective manufacturing of advanced therapies and the creation of a high quality, robust supply chains that will ultimately allow greater access to cell and gene therapies for patients across the UK and beyond.”
